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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. capital — a city
  4. lean — to bend
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. can — a tin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. can — to be able to
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. stock — goods
  14. lean — thin
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — money
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. can — a tin
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stock — shares
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — a trainer

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