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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: capital · rule · stock · clip · perch · present

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. 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 city
  2. present — there
  3. capital — money
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — a gift
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — the time now
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stock — shares
  18. 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