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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — clothes
  10. season — in sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. capital — money
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. current — electric
  15. capital — a city
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — not warm
  18. season — of the year
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — an illness
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. suit — in cards
  23. current — of water
  24. stock — shares

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