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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.

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: leaves · squash · charge · capital · stock · clip · season · pitch

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stock — shares
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — a video
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. clip — to cut
  8. season — in sport
  9. squash — the sport
  10. charge — in control
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. capital — a city
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. season — of the year
  19. charge — electricity
  20. capital — money
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. charge — a price
  24. leaves — to go away

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