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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · club · wound · season · fork · stock · capital · wave

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. club — for golf
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hand — in cards
  5. club — a group
  6. season — of the year
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. capital — money
  24. wound — an injury

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