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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. stock — shares
  4. bear — the animal
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bear — the animal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. swing — music
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — money
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fine — high quality
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. swing — to play on
  16. game — a match
  17. band — a music group
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. band — a ring
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fine — all right
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. stock — goods

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