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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. capital — money
  6. rule — a law
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. track — a song
  9. field — for sport
  10. last — to go on
  11. field — farmland
  12. capital — a city
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stock — goods
  17. field — a subject
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bass — low music
  21. track — a path
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. bass — the fish

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