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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kick — in football
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cue — a hint
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. field — a subject
  13. cue — a signal
  14. field — for sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. capital — money
  17. mark — a trace
  18. land — ground
  19. mark — a grade
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. stock — goods
  24. bass — the fish

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