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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — a leader
  3. land — a country
  4. capital — a city
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rest — a break
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. land — ground
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — to come down
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. capital — money
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. stock — shares
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stock — goods
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. kick — in football

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