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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. chair — a leader
  8. stock — goods
  9. spell — letters
  10. stock — shares
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spell — magic
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — a break

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