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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: bowl · capital · key · net · bat · rush · stock · pop

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. net — for catching
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bat — the animal
  17. net — after costs
  18. pop — music
  19. capital — money
  20. net — in sport
  21. key — in music
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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