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

Word bank: toast · stock · firm · field · capital · ruler · swing · tear

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. stock — shares
  4. field — a subject
  5. swing — music
  6. toast — bread
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. firm — decided
  13. swing — to play on
  14. firm — steady
  15. field — farmland
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — for sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — in golf
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. capital — money
  24. tear — to rip

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