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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. object — a thing
  4. club — for dancing
  5. track — a song
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — a city
  8. clip — to cut
  9. track — to keep track
  10. club — a group
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — to protest
  13. stock — goods
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. club — for golf
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — a video
  18. stock — shares
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fine — high quality
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. capital — a big letter

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