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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: wound · bass · stock · coach · club · capital · cap · fine

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. capital — a city
  4. club — a group
  5. bass — low music
  6. club — for golf
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. club — for dancing
  9. stock — goods
  10. fine — high quality
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. capital — money
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cap — a hat
  20. fine — all right
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stock — shares
  24. capital — a big letter

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