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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — goods
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. capital — money
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. last — finally
  9. pound — a weight
  10. capital — a city
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. date — the fruit
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — to go on
  15. stock — shares
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — boats
  18. rush — hurry
  19. last — final
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. clip — to cut
  24. craft — a skill

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