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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rest — a break
  4. content — the amount
  5. rest — what's left
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — money
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. stock — shares
  15. branch — a division
  16. perch — the fish
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stock — goods
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pound — a weight
  23. capital — a city
  24. stem — of a plant

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