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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. capital — money
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. band — a music group
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cell — in biology
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — a break
  13. band — a ring
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stock — goods
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — a city
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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