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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. game — a match
  5. land — ground
  6. spring — the season
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — of water
  10. capital — a city
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. land — a country
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. land — to come down
  19. stock — shares
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. spring — a coil
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stock — goods

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