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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: safe · stock · capital · pitcher · shower · cap · net · fork

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — a hat
  5. capital — a city
  6. fork — in a road
  7. net — for catching
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. net — in sport
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stock — goods
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. cap — a lid
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cap — of ice
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. net — after costs
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — a soup base

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