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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stock — goods
  6. game — a match
  7. suit — in cards
  8. land — to come down
  9. capital — a city
  10. suit — to fit
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. staff — employees
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bat — the animal
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. staff — a stick
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. suit — clothes
  24. staff — employees

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