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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: capital · rest · stock · kid · perch · lash · content · craft

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — goods
  5. rest — what's left
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — money
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. content — the amount
  10. craft — a skill
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rest — a break
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. content — happy
  15. capital — a city
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stock — shares
  18. rest — what's left
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. kid — child
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — to tease

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