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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — in music
  10. hand — help
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. scale — size or range
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. stock — goods
  22. bat — the animal
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bat — in an idiom

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