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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. can — a tin
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. kid — child
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cue — a hint
  9. capital — a city
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. present — the time now
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. row — to paddle
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. present — a gift
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. capital — money
  23. present — there
  24. dip — to sink

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