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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: bound · trunk · capital · pass · last · pit · kid · stock

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bound — tied together
  8. capital — a city
  9. pit — in a race
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bound — obliged
  16. kid — child
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bound — certain
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. capital — money
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pit — a hole

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