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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: net · drill · rash · stock · capital · prune · charge · spring

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. stock — goods
  3. net — after costs
  4. drill — army training
  5. charge — in control
  6. spring — the season
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rash — hasty
  9. charge — a price
  10. spring — a coil
  11. charge — electricity
  12. stock — shares
  13. capital — money
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. net — for catching
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rash — a series
  23. capital — a city
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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