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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 124 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. capital — a city
  5. cap — a hat
  6. dip — to sink
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stock — goods
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. roll — a list
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a cake
  24. pitcher — a jug

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