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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: patient · bark · capital · mark · firm · chip · stock · ground

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. capital — a city
  7. chip — to eat
  8. stock — goods
  9. bark — to shout
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. capital — money
  12. stock — shares
  13. mark — a grade
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — steady
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. ground — the earth
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. firm — a company
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mark — a trace
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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