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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fork · net · mine · capital · tear · fine · mouse

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fine — all right
  3. net — for catching
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — from crying
  7. net — in sport
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. net — after costs
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mouse — for a computer

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