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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: season · stock · capital · march · cue · mark · date · bound

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mark — a grade
  4. stock — goods
  5. march — music
  6. season — in sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bound — certain
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stock — shares
  13. march — the month
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bound — tied together
  17. season — of the year
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cue — for pool
  21. march — the month
  22. cue — a hint
  23. capital — money
  24. date — on the calendar

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