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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. court — of law
  3. capital — a city
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ground — a position
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. ground — the earth
  8. capital — money
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stock — shares
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. court — for sport
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. court — of a king
  19. bass — low music
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. ground — crushed
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stock — goods

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