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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cue — a hint
  3. court — of law
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. row — to paddle
  6. capital — a city
  7. spell — letters
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. cue — a signal
  13. capital — money
  14. spell — magic
  15. cue — for pool
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stock — goods
  18. rest — a break
  19. court — for sport
  20. key — the most important part
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stock — shares
  23. court — of a king
  24. rest — what's left

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