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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: pound · ball · race · file · stock · branch · bear · capital

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. file — a line of people
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bear — the animal
  10. race — the arms race
  11. file — a document
  12. branch — a division
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. race — a contest
  18. pound — a weight
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. file — a tool
  24. race — humankind

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