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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: mark · foot · land · stock · capital · season

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — a measure
  3. capital — money
  4. land — a country
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. land — to come down
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. land — ground
  13. stock — goods
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stock — shares
  16. capital — a city
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mark — a grade

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