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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: kick · present · stock · prune · track · date · bound · capital

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — money
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. bound — obliged
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. track — a path
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stock — shares
  12. track — a song
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. present — there
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. bound — tied together
  23. present — the time now
  24. bound — certain

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