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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 116 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: club · season · stock · capital · field · tube

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. field — farmland
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. club — for dancing
  6. field — a subject
  7. stock — shares
  8. season — of the year
  9. field — for sport
  10. club — a group
  11. capital — money
  12. tube — a container
  13. stock — goods
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. capital — a city
  16. club — for golf
  17. tube — the underground
  18. season — in sport

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