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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. capital — money
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. stock — shares
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. capital — a city
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. lie — to recline
  16. toast — bread
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. stock — goods
  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