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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — the tool
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. march — music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. march — the month
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. capital — money

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