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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 120 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: land · mug · bark · drill · kid · capital · object · stock

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. object — a thing
  4. mug — to rob
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. object — an aim
  7. drill — the tool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stock — shares
  10. land — to come down
  11. drill — army training
  12. mug — a cup
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mug — a face
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. capital — money
  18. kid — to tease
  19. capital — a city
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. object — to protest
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. stock — goods

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