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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. capital — a city
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. stock — goods
  9. charge — electricity
  10. stock — shares
  11. board — a committee
  12. squash — the sport
  13. kid — to tease
  14. degree — from a university
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. craft — a skill
  19. board — to get on
  20. degree — an amount
  21. kid — child
  22. capital — money
  23. squash — to crush
  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