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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: bulb · tear · toast · capital · stock · degree · charge · pop

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. stock — goods
  5. pop — to visit
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — a city
  8. charge — electricity
  9. tear — from crying
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tear — from crying
  13. toast — bread
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — a price
  18. tear — to rip
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. capital — money
  24. bulb — for light

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