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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · key · sharp · capital · stock · arm · mine · wind

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mate — a partner
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — for digging
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mate — to breed
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. key — in music
  14. capital — money
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wind — moving air
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. key — for a lock
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. stock — shares
  23. key — the most important part
  24. stock — goods

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