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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: season · mine · file · capital · wind · pit · stock · bay

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. stock — shares
  20. season — of the year
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. season — in sport
  24. wind — moving air

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