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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: row · stick · stock · cap · roll · hand · drill · capital

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cap — a hat
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. capital — a city
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cap — of ice
  14. stock — goods
  15. cap — a lid
  16. row — to paddle
  17. roll — a cake
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. roll — a list
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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