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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.

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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: capital · cold · stand · chip · last · racket · drill · stock

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — final
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — to bear
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — to eat
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — shares
  13. drill — army training
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. capital — money
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. last — to go on
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. drill — a practice
  23. last — finally
  24. stand — on your feet

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