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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: lie · capital · pop · wax · kid · clip · stock · firm

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. firm — steady
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stock — shares
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — child
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. stock — goods
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — money
  13. wax — to grow
  14. lie — to recline
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pop — to visit
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. firm — a company
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — to tease
  24. firm — decided

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