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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: club · capital · sharp · stock · bat · suit · field · season

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — a city
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. club — for golf
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stock — shares
  13. field — for sport
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. season — of the year
  18. suit — in cards
  19. capital — money
  20. suit — clothes
  21. club — a group
  22. field — farmland
  23. suit — to fit
  24. season — in sport

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