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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: leaves · present · current · content · stock · capital · trunk · march

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — the month
  3. current — happening now
  4. present — a gift
  5. current — of water
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. content — happy
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. present — there
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. present — the time now
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. march — the month
  21. current — electric
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. march — music
  24. capital — a city

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