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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cap — a hat
  3. net — for catching
  4. stock — goods
  5. capital — a city
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cap — of ice
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. clip — for paper
  11. net — after costs
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stock — shares
  17. lean — thin
  18. net — in sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cap — a lid
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. clip — a video

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