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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: stock · pound · patient · chip · can · capital · lash · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. capital — a city
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. can — a tin
  8. stock — shares
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. pound — a weight
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. capital — money
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chip — for betting
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — to eat
  23. stock — goods
  24. can — a tin

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