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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: bass · stock · bowl · capital · pass · root · present · kid

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — goods
  10. root — of a plant
  11. present — the time now
  12. bass — the fish
  13. capital — money
  14. pass — a permit
  15. root — of a word
  16. bass — low music
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. present — there
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stock — shares
  21. present — a gift
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. stock — a soup base

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