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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 · mate · charge · file · swing · bark · wind · capital

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mate — to breed
  5. file — a line of people
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. mate — a friend
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. charge — electricity
  13. swing — to play on
  14. capital — money
  15. charge — in control
  16. mate — a partner
  17. charge — a price
  18. capital — a city
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  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