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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 · drill · game · mouse · stock · bear · tube · cue

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cue — a hint
  7. capital — a city
  8. cue — a signal
  9. drill — army training
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. game — a match
  12. cue — for pool
  13. stock — shares
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. drill — a practice
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. stock — goods
  23. bear — the animal
  24. tube — in a tire

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