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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mark — a grade
  3. stock — shares
  4. mark — a trace
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — of water
  7. kid — to tease
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — the season
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — a coil
  21. kid — child
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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