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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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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: wound · bay · capital · cell · stock · rule

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. rule — government
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — shares
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rule — a law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stock — goods
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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