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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.

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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 · kid · prune · capital · swing · race · content · vault

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. swing — music
  4. race — a contest
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. swing — in golf
  8. race — the arms race
  9. swing — to play on
  10. kid — child
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. kid — to tease
  14. content — the amount
  15. stock — shares
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stock — goods
  19. vault — a safe
  20. race — humankind
  21. content — happy
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a city
  24. prune — to trim

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