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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stock — goods
  3. charge — electricity
  4. swing — in golf
  5. stock — shares
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. charge — a price
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. capital — money
  24. charge — in control

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