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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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. lean — thin
  7. field — farmland
  8. rest — a break
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. rest — what's left
  14. field — for sport
  15. lean — to bend
  16. snap — to click
  17. club — for dancing
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — a subject
  20. club — for golf
  21. stock — shares
  22. rest — what's left
  23. capital — money
  24. arm — a part of something

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