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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: lie · chair · net · capital · stock · trunk · spell · face

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. face — part of the head
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — letters
  7. stock — goods
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. net — for catching
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stock — shares
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. face — to point toward
  16. spell — magic
  17. lie — to recline
  18. spell — a short time
  19. chair — a leader
  20. face — to confront
  21. net — after costs
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. net — in sport
  24. trunk — of a car

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