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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. stock — goods
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bank — for money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — the month
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — money
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. capital — a city
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. mate — a friend
  20. march — music
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. march — the month
  24. chest — a box

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