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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. capital — a city
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stock — goods
  12. branch — a division
  13. mug — to rob
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. squash — to crush
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. capital — money
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. stock — shares
  21. kid — to tease
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mug — a face
  24. mug — a cup

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