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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 124 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chest — of your body
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. stock — shares
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chest — a box
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bass — the fish
  19. foot — a measure
  20. toast — bread
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. chest — of your body
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. bass — low music

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