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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: saw · fine · stock · net · season · capital · fall · row

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stock — shares
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — in sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. row — to paddle
  10. season — of the year
  11. fine — high quality
  12. capital — a city
  13. saw — the tool
  14. net — for catching
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. net — in sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. row — a line
  22. fall — the season
  23. capital — money
  24. season — to add flavour

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