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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a city
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. mate — a partner
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. mate — a friend
  14. hand — help
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wound — an injury
  18. capital — money
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mate — to breed
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stock — shares

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