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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. scale — in music
  5. mate — to breed
  6. race — the arms race
  7. scale — size or range
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. mate — a partner
  11. capital — a city
  12. mate — a friend
  13. race — humankind
  14. last — final
  15. capital — money
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. stock — shares
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. band — a ring
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — a contest
  24. content — happy

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