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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. clip — a video
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. march — the month
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. scale — in music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. stock — shares
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — music
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. march — the month
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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