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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 · mug · stock · season · foot · mine · fan · mate

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mug — a cup
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. stock — shares
  7. capital — money
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. season — in sport
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stock — goods
  16. mate — a friend
  17. season — of the year
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mate — a partner
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mate — to breed

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