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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: stock · toast · prune · pitcher · face · capital · fan · kid

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stock — goods
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. face — to point toward
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. toast — bread
  15. stock — shares
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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