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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · stock · tear · fall · coach · straw · mark · capital

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — shares
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stock — goods
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mark — a trace
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mark — a grade
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. hand — help
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fall — the season
  23. capital — money
  24. hand — in cards

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