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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. capital — money
  4. can — a tin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. chip — to eat
  12. branch — a division
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bear — the animal
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. capital — a city
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chest — a box
  23. branch — of a tree
  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