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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. stock — shares
  3. drill — the tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — in a race
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stock — goods
  9. net — after costs
  10. mate — a partner
  11. net — in sport
  12. mate — a friend
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. net — for catching
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. mate — to breed

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