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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: mug · ground · capital · last · fine · pound · bowl · stock

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. last — to go on
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — a city
  4. fine — all right
  5. last — finally
  6. pound — a weight
  7. ground — crushed
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. mug — to rob
  12. fine — high quality
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — a face
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. last — final
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. stock — goods
  20. capital — money
  21. stock — shares
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. pound — for dogs
  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