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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. last — finally
  4. stock — goods
  5. key — in music
  6. current — happening now
  7. key — the most important part
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. last — final
  19. stock — shares
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. key — for a lock
  23. hand — help
  24. stock — a soup base

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