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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: capital · bowl · wound · stock · net · prune · saw · staff

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stock — goods
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. capital — money
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stock — shares
  11. capital — a city
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. net — for catching
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. staff — employees

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