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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 120 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: present · firm · capital · clip · stock · march

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. capital — money
  3. march — music
  4. clip — a video
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — decided
  8. present — a gift
  9. stock — goods
  10. march — the month
  11. present — the time now
  12. stock — shares
  13. march — the month
  14. firm — a company
  15. clip — to cut
  16. firm — steady
  17. capital — a city
  18. present — there

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