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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: capital · stock · club · bat · pop · lash · march · lean

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stock — goods
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. club — a group
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. march — the month
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. capital — a city
  16. march — music
  17. club — for golf
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stock — shares
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bat — the animal

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