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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 · bank · pit · degree · stock · file · fan · mouse

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bank — for money
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. pit — in a race
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — temperature
  17. capital — money
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bank — for money
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. degree — from a university

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