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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: bark · stock · fine · hide · bat · capital · club · spring

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. club — for golf
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spring — a coil
  9. capital — a city
  10. fine — all right
  11. club — a group
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fine — high quality
  14. stock — goods
  15. capital — money
  16. spring — of water
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. spring — the season
  24. bark — to shout

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