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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stock — goods
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. stock — shares
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. capital — money
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. stock — a soup base

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