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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: fork · march · hide · club · capital · pop · last · stock

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pop — soda
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. last — finally
  13. pop — to visit
  14. last — final
  15. march — the month
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. last — to go on
  18. march — music
  19. stock — goods
  20. march — the month
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. club — a group

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