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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: drill · jam · pitcher · fork · stock · deal · mine · capital

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fork — in a road
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stock — goods
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. capital — money
  11. drill — a practice
  12. capital — a city
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — army training
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. drill — the tool
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. deal — an agreement

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