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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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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: capital · drill · stock · bowl · swing · march · kid · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. march — the month
  3. date — the fruit
  4. swing — to play on
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. march — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. march — the month
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. kid — child
  13. drill — a practice
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — army training
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. drill — the tool
  20. capital — a city
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stock — shares
  24. capital — a big letter

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