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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: swing · spring · patient · stock · bowl · capital · rule · wind

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. spring — of water
  3. rule — a law
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stock — shares
  7. capital — a city
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — the season
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. swing — music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rule — government
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — to play on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. capital — money
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. stock — goods

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