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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 116 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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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: kid · straw · stock · march · rest · capital

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — shares
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stock — goods
  9. kid — to tease
  10. march — music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rest — a break
  13. capital — money
  14. rest — what's left
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kid — child
  17. capital — a city
  18. straw — dry grass

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