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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: mate · capital · temple · net · suit · pitcher · chest · stock

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. capital — money
  4. stock — shares
  5. capital — a city
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — a partner
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — goods
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. net — in sport
  13. mate — a friend
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — to fit
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. net — for catching
  18. chest — a box
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mate — to breed
  21. chest — of your body
  22. suit — in cards
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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