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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 120 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: tube · swing · capital · nail · stock · lie · squash · lean

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — shares
  6. tube — the underground
  7. squash — the sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. capital — a city
  10. lean — to bend
  11. swing — to play on
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. tube — a container
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. lean — thin
  17. lie — to recline
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. swing — in golf
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. swing — music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. stock — goods

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