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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 120 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. capital — a city
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — of water
  10. plane — a tool
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — the season
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. stock — shares
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stand — to bear
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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