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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: bank · stock · pit · capital · mine · pop · rest · land

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — ground
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pop — music
  6. bank — for money
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. capital — a city
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rest — a break
  14. mine — for digging
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bank — for money
  18. land — a country
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bank — of a river
  23. rest — what's left
  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