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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: saw · land · stock · capital · mouse · content · degree · row

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. row — to paddle
  3. capital — money
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. stock — goods
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. capital — a city
  12. content — the amount
  13. land — a country
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. saw — the tool
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. row — a line
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. content — happy
  24. stock — shares

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