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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mark · rule · field · capital · rest · racket · ground

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. field — for sport
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — farmland
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ground — the earth
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rule — a law
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mark — a grade
  15. field — a subject
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ground — a position
  18. stock — goods
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. rest — a break
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. ground — crushed

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