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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 120 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: trunk · capital · racket · dip · drill · stock · rule · tear

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stock — goods
  3. capital — a city
  4. stock — shares
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. capital — money
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. drill — army training
  13. tear — to rip
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. rule — a law
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. rule — government
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. capital — a big letter

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