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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bat — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. march — the month
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. club — a group
  15. stock — goods
  16. rash — hasty
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rash — a series
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. club — for golf
  24. march — 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