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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — shares
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. rule — government
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — a city
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. stock — goods
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. rule — a law
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. capital — money
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. tube — a container
  19. wind — moving air
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. band — a ring
  24. rule — to rule out

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