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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 120 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 · track · hand · can · ball · stock · cold · fork

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ball — a dance
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. capital — money
  9. cold — an illness
  10. can — a tin
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — goods
  13. track — a song
  14. fork — in a road
  15. capital — a city
  16. track — to keep track
  17. can — a tin
  18. ball — a great time
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. stock — shares
  22. track — a path
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. hand — help

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