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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. fork — in a road
  8. last — to go on
  9. mate — a friend
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. mate — to breed
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — shares
  18. foot — a measure
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — final
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — a city
  23. stock — goods
  24. fork — a garden tool

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