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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: capital · mark · chip · squash · pop · stock · tear · wind

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. pop — soda
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pop — to visit
  5. squash — to crush
  6. mark — a grade
  7. chip — for betting
  8. capital — money
  9. mark — a trace
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chip — to eat
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. pop — music
  16. squash — the sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — goods
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. stock — shares

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