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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. land — ground
  3. pass — a permit
  4. stock — shares
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mark — a grade
  7. clip — a video
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. land — a country
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. current — happening now
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. clip — for paper
  21. land — to come down
  22. current — electric
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. current — of water

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