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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: stock · band · pitch · tear · capital · leaves · last · trunk

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. capital — a city
  4. stock — shares
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. stock — goods
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. last — final
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — to go on
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — completely
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a music group
  24. tear — to rip

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