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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 120 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: stock · file · cabinet · bulb · capital · track · deal · arm

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. capital — a city
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. stock — shares
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. deal — to handle
  11. file — a tool
  12. track — a song
  13. capital — money
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. track — a path
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stock — goods
  23. file — a document
  24. arm — part of the body

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