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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: date · march · stock · tear · capital · lie · sharp · safe

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. sharp — clever
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. stock — shares
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stock — goods
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. date — the fruit
  18. capital — money
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. march — the month
  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