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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 · patient · cap · root · tear · capital

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a plant
  4. stock — shares
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tear — to rip
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. cap — a lid
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cap — a hat

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