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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 116 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rash — a series
  3. net — for catching
  4. field — farmland
  5. bound — certain
  6. kid — to tease
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kid — child
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rash — hasty
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. capital — a city
  16. field — a subject
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stock — goods
  24. field — for sport

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