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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 116 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: capital · bat · fall · current · bay · rest · stock · lash

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. current — electric
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. current — happening now
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stock — goods
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — what's left
  18. current — of water
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. stock — shares
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fall — the season
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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