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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: bound · fork · stock · firm · shower · mine · ruler · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bound — certain
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bound — obliged
  10. firm — decided
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. shower — to wash
  13. firm — a company
  14. bound — tied together
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stock — shares
  18. shower — rain
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. firm — steady
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stock — goods
  23. ruler — a monarch
  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