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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · craft · tube · wound · kick · chair · stock · file

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. tube — the underground
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a line of people
  7. capital — a city
  8. craft — a skill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stock — shares
  15. tube — a container
  16. stock — goods
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kick — in football
  19. craft — boats
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. capital — money

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