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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 120 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stand — to bear
  5. capital — money
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stock — goods
  11. capital — a city
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mate — a friend
  14. field — a subject
  15. stock — shares
  16. ball — a great time
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — for sport
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. ball — a round shape
  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