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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: bulb · wind · kid · stock · club · capital · key · fine

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. kid — to tease
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — goods
  5. fine — all right
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. key — in music
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. capital — a city
  14. kid — child
  15. bulb — for light
  16. key — for a lock
  17. stock — shares
  18. bulb — for light
  19. club — a group
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wind — moving air
  22. club — for golf
  23. capital — money
  24. club — for dancing

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