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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — to crush
  5. can — a tin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — shares
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. can — a tin
  12. file — a tool
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. capital — money
  17. file — a document
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. capital — a city
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. stock — goods
  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