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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: tube · stock · patient · pop · capital · content · saw · scale

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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 — shares
  2. content — happy
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — goods
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — money
  14. scale — size or range
  15. content — the amount
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — in music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. tube — the underground
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. tube — a container
  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