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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: stock · season · pop · capital · file · bear · hand · lie

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stock — goods
  6. file — a document
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. bear — the animal
  10. file — a tool
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. season — of the year
  18. stock — shares
  19. capital — a city
  20. hand — help
  21. season — in sport
  22. lie — to recline
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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