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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: bowl · cap · bark · ground · stock · fork · stick · capital

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. ground — a position
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stock — shares
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stock — goods
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bark — to shout
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. capital — a city
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. ground — crushed
  24. capital — money

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