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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. capital — a city
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. net — in sport
  6. foot — a measure
  7. spring — the season
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spring — of water
  10. pop — soda
  11. net — after costs
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hand — help
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. stock — shares
  16. net — for catching
  17. capital — money
  18. stock — goods
  19. hand — in cards
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pop — music
  22. spring — a coil
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. stock — a soup base

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