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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: ball · capital · club · stock · wake · chair

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. stock — goods
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. capital — a city
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. capital — money
  10. club — for golf
  11. wake — a trail
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. club — a group
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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