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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — money
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pitch — completely
  9. suit — clothes
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — a city
  12. pop — music
  13. suit — to fit
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — to breed
  18. suit — in cards
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. stock — shares
  21. pop — soda
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pop — to visit
  24. mate — a friend

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