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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: net · current · capital · stock · wake · bat · lie · lash

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. capital — a city
  4. net — in sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stock — shares
  7. lie — to recline
  8. capital — money
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. current — of water
  13. net — for catching
  14. current — electric
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. net — after costs
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wake — a trail
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. current — happening now
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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