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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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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: stock · fall · capital · key · content · bat · stick · kick

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. capital — a city
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fall — the season
  9. key — in music
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. content — happy
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kick — in football
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — the animal
  24. content — the amount

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