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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cell — a phone
  5. craft — a skill
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stock — shares
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. field — farmland
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cell — in biology
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. capital — a city
  18. stock — goods
  19. wax — to grow
  20. craft — boats
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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