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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: capital · stock · face · ground · dip · toast · present · race

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. face — part of the head
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. face — to confront
  6. stock — goods
  7. race — the arms race
  8. capital — money
  9. ground — crushed
  10. stock — shares
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. race — a contest
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ground — a position
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. present — the time now
  20. race — humankind
  21. capital — a city
  22. toast — bread
  23. ground — the earth
  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