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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 120 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: squash · leaves · stock · temple · capital · spell · stand · cap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. stock — shares
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spell — letters
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stock — goods
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stand — to bear
  18. spell — a short time
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. cap — a lid
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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