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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — shares
  4. bore — to drill
  5. tube — a container
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. face — part of the head
  13. current — electric
  14. date — the fruit
  15. face — to point toward
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. face — to confront
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bore — to tire
  24. tube — the underground

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