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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: firm · wake · wave · lie · kick · capital · cold · stock

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — to recline
  5. firm — a company
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — steady
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stock — shares
  16. kick — in football
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. wake — a trail
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. stock — goods
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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