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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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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: wind · stock · mouse · pound · bay · capital · snap · race

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. stock — goods
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. capital — money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. race — a contest
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pound — a weight
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stock — shares

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