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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: bass · fall · stock · spring · toast · bank · capital · race

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. capital — money
  3. bass — low music
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. fall — to drop
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bank — for money
  9. race — humankind
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — a coil
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. capital — a city
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fall — the season
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bank — for money
  23. fall — to drop
  24. stock — a soup base

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