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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pop — music
  3. stock — goods
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. band — a music group
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a city
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. present — there
  16. content — the amount
  17. present — the time now
  18. pop — to visit
  19. deal — to handle
  20. present — a gift
  21. band — a ring
  22. pop — soda
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bowl — to roll

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