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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: club · capital · stock · lie · coach · march · kid · bass

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. march — music
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — low music
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. club — a group
  12. stock — goods
  13. kid — child
  14. lie — to recline
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stock — shares
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. club — for golf
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. march — the month
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. capital — money
  24. bass — the fish

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