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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 · plane · swing · spring · clip · capital · cue · suit

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cue — a signal
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stock — goods
  5. suit — to fit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cue — a hint
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — to play on
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spring — of water
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. clip — a video
  19. suit — in cards
  20. cue — for pool
  21. suit — clothes
  22. clip — to cut
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — the season

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