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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 120 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: court · net · charge · mouse · pitcher · capital · cabinet · stock

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a city
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. net — in sport
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. charge — a price
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. charge — electricity
  12. stock — shares
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stock — goods
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — for catching
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. capital — money
  23. court — of a king
  24. charge — in control

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