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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: squash · bark · capital · key · stock · scale · fine · face

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. key — for a lock
  5. fine — all right
  6. stock — shares
  7. fine — high quality
  8. squash — to crush
  9. face — to confront
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. key — in music
  12. capital — money
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. squash — the sport
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bark — to shout
  19. scale — in music
  20. stock — goods
  21. capital — a city
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. key — the most important part
  24. scale — for weighing

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