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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stock — shares
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — money
  11. root — the cause
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. track — a song
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. present — there
  17. capital — a city
  18. present — the time now
  19. track — a path
  20. present — a gift
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. track — to keep track
  24. stock — goods

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