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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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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: pitcher · capital · mate · spring · lie · leaves · swing · stock

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. swing — in golf
  10. lie — to recline
  11. swing — music
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. mate — to breed
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mate — a friend
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. lie — an untruth

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