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

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. roll — a list
  4. net — for catching
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. capital — a city
  10. spell — letters
  11. net — after costs
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spell — a short time
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — shares
  18. bank — for money
  19. net — in sport
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. roll — a cake
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kid — child

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