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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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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: wound · bay · capital · cell · stock · rule · suit · land

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — in biology
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stock — goods
  7. land — to come down
  8. rule — government
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. land — a country
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. capital — money
  18. suit — in cards
  19. land — ground
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rule — a law
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. suit — clothes
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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