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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. track — to keep track
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stock — goods
  10. track — a path
  11. stock — shares
  12. race — the arms race
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. race — a contest
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. race — humankind
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. capital — a city
  22. lie — to recline
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. lie — an untruth

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