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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stock — goods
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. firm — decided
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — shares
  7. board — to get on
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. foot — a measure
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. sharp — clever
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. board — a committee
  19. firm — a company
  20. capital — money
  21. firm — steady
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. ball — a dance
  24. foot — part of the body

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