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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bore — to drill
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bore — to tire
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. stock — goods
  8. ball — a great time
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. sharp — clever
  21. branch — a division
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — shares
  24. wind — moving air

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