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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 · capital · kick · row · cold · bank

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. row — a line
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. capital — money
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kick — in football
  17. bank — of a river
  18. capital — a city

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