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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mine — for digging
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stock — goods
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — the season
  18. stock — shares
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. file — a tool
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. capital — a city

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