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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fall — the season
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stock — shares
  18. fall — to drop
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. chest — a box

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