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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: clip · squash · stock · safe · capital · pitcher · field · bank

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. capital — a city
  4. stock — shares
  5. field — for sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. clip — a video
  9. bank — of a river
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bank — for money
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. clip — to cut
  15. capital — money
  16. field — a subject
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — farmland
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bank — for money
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stock — a soup base

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