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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: bank · mark · capital · court · stock · chip · prune · track

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bank — for money
  3. track — a song
  4. mark — a trace
  5. chip — for betting
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. track — to keep track
  9. court — for sport
  10. bank — of a river
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stock — shares
  14. mark — a grade
  15. capital — money
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. track — a path
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. court — of law
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — of a king
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bank — for money
  24. chip — to eat

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