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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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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: stock · mark · squash · rest · capital · fall · court · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fall — the season
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — the time now
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. squash — to crush
  8. court — for sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. court — of law
  14. capital — money
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — a city
  17. rest — a break
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mark — a trace
  20. present — there
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. rest — what's left

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