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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: bear · capital · file · stock · rule · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. bear — to put up with
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wake — a trail
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. file — a tool
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. stock — goods
  12. capital — a city
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a document
  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