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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. capital — a city
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. key — in music
  8. stock — shares
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kick — in football
  12. stock — goods
  13. land — ground
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. key — the most important part
  16. fork — in a road
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. snap — to click
  20. key — for a lock
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. capital — money

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