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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: fine · press · hand · stock · capital · kick · spell · mate

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. hand — help
  5. spell — magic
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stock — goods
  8. fine — all right
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. kick — in football
  11. mate — to breed
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. hand — in cards
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. fine — high quality
  18. mate — a partner
  19. press — to push
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — letters
  23. capital — money
  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