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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 116 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: cap · bat · stock · field · capital · bulb · prune · chip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chip — for betting
  8. stock — shares
  9. cap — a lid
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. field — for sport
  12. capital — money
  13. stock — goods
  14. chip — to eat
  15. capital — a city
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bulb — for light
  21. field — a subject
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. field — farmland

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