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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bank — for money
  4. shower — to wash
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. club — for dancing
  9. stock — shares
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pit — a hole
  13. stock — goods
  14. bank — of a river
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. club — a group
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. club — for golf
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wind — moving air
  23. shower — rain
  24. bank — for money

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