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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: capital · foot · arm · drill · pop · stock · tube · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — goods
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. capital — a city
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. tube — a container
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. foot — a measure
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. drill — a practice
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. sharp — clever
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pop — to visit

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