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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pop — soda
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — goods
  6. object — a thing
  7. rash — a series
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. object — to protest
  15. plane — a tool
  16. capital — money
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. object — an aim
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bat — the animal

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