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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. scale — in music
  3. row — a line
  4. scale — size or range
  5. board — a committee
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. capital — money
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. stock — shares
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. deal — to handle
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. board — to get on
  18. band — a music group
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. capital — a city
  23. stock — goods
  24. mine — for digging

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