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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: last · cabinet · capital · temple · snap · stock

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. snap — to click
  3. stock — shares
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — finally
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. last — final
  10. stock — goods
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. capital — a city
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. last — to go on
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. capital — money

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