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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a city
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — goods
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rule — a law
  12. mark — a trace
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. hand — help
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — shares
  19. scale — in music
  20. mark — a grade
  21. rule — government
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. capital — money
  24. wound — an injury

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