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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. capital — a city
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. capital — money
  15. stock — goods
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stock — shares
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. row — a line
  24. mouse — for a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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