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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: capital · mark · spring · stock · march · spell · wound · sharp

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. capital — a city
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — a grade
  5. march — the month
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — shares
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. spell — letters
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spring — of water
  18. stock — goods
  19. spring — the season
  20. march — music
  21. capital — money
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. mark — to pay attention

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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