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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — a break
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. mug — a face
  7. land — a country
  8. spring — the season
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spring — a coil
  14. land — ground
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mug — a cup
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. dip — to sink

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