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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: scale · staff · capital · stock · tear · clip · rock · patient

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. scale — size or range
  4. capital — a city
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rock — a stone
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. stock — shares
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rock — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. staff — employees
  19. scale — in music
  20. clip — a video
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stock — goods
  23. tear — from crying
  24. patient — a sick person

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