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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: cue · band · pop · coach · racket · capital · stock · cold

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stock — goods
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — a city
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — money
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cue — a hint
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. pop — soda
  22. cue — a signal
  23. stock — shares
  24. cue — for pool

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