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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 124 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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. capital — a city
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spell — letters
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — money
  13. hand — help
  14. tube — a container
  15. spell — magic
  16. branch — a division
  17. spell — a short time
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. branch — of a bank

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