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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 116 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: spell · tear · lash · plane · capital · stock · pound · court

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pound — a weight
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. capital — money
  10. stock — goods
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. spell — letters
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. plane — a tool
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. court — for sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. capital — a city

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