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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. march — the month
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stock — goods
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chair — a leader
  13. branch — a division
  14. object — an aim
  15. present — there
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — a city
  19. object — a thing
  20. present — the time now
  21. wax — to grow
  22. present — a gift
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. capital — money

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