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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. march — the month
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cap — a lid
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. season — of the year
  14. march — music
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. march — the month
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cap — a hat
  20. tube — a container
  21. stock — goods
  22. season — in sport
  23. tube — the underground
  24. patient — a sick person

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