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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rule — government
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stock — shares
  6. rule — a law
  7. present — there
  8. stock — goods
  9. mark — a trace
  10. capital — a city
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. last — final
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. capital — money
  17. present — the time now
  18. sharp — clever
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. present — a gift
  24. sharp — exactly

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