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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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. scale — size or range
  2. stock — goods
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. capital — a city
  8. pit — a hole
  9. present — the time now
  10. pit — in a race
  11. land — a country
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. land — ground
  18. scale — in music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. land — to come down
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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