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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. stock — goods
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stock — shares
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lean — thin
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. capital — a city
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com