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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 116 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: stock · saw · mark · can · bowl · spell · mine · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. stock — goods
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. spell — letters
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spell — magic
  18. stock — shares
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. spell — a short time
  22. capital — money
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. can — a tin

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