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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: march · capital · stock · pit · current · snap · lean · season

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. capital — a city
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. current — electric
  7. lean — to bend
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stock — goods
  10. pit — in a race
  11. snap — to click
  12. stock — shares
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. march — music
  15. season — of the year
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. capital — money
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. lean — thin
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. season — in sport

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