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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. stock — goods
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. cell — in biology
  8. club — a group
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stock — shares
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — money
  16. cell — a phone
  17. club — for dancing
  18. capital — a city
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. march — music
  21. shower — to wash
  22. club — for golf
  23. bulb — for light
  24. march — the month

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