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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: mate · snap · capital · fork · scale · content · chip · stock

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mate — to breed
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mate — a friend
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — the amount
  14. stock — shares
  15. content — happy
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. capital — money
  20. chip — for betting
  21. fork — in a road
  22. chip — to eat
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fork — to eat with

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