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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bass — the fish
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stock — shares
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. land — to come down
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. land — ground
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — a match
  17. land — a country
  18. stock — goods
  19. can — a tin
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. tube — a container
  22. capital — money
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bass — low music

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