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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ground — the earth
  3. mark — a trace
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — goods
  6. capital — money
  7. net — in sport
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stock — shares
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. ground — a position
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mate — to breed
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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