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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · cell · capital · stock · toast · rash

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. capital — a city
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rule — a law
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stock — shares
  15. rule — government
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — goods
  18. toast — the most admired

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