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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stock — shares
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. firm — steady
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. firm — decided
  9. pop — music
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. firm — a company
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chair — a leader
  14. capital — a city
  15. pop — soda
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — high quality
  24. cell — a phone

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