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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — shares
  6. drill — army training
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. stock — goods
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cap — of ice
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rule — government
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. capital — a big letter

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