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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: hand · chip · band · capital · track · mug · stock · foot

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mug — to rob
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. capital — money
  7. mug — a face
  8. track — a path
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. track — a song
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mug — a cup
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. band — a ring
  15. chip — to eat
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — a city
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. track — to keep track
  22. chip — for betting
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — a measure

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