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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: stock · net · stick · spring · rule · capital

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stock — shares
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. spring — of water
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. net — for catching
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. capital — money
  12. stock — goods
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. spring — the season
  15. rule — a law
  16. capital — a city
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs

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