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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stock — goods
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stock — shares
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. tube — a container
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. shower — rain
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bore — to drill
  12. capital — a city
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bore — to tire
  17. swing — to play on
  18. tube — the underground
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bear — the animal

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