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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: cold · stock · march · capital · chest · lie · cue · nail

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stock — goods
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lie — to recline
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — music
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cue — for pool
  16. capital — a city
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cue — a signal
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — shares

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