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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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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stock — goods
  3. tube — the underground
  4. drill — army training
  5. tube — a container
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. drill — a practice
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. drill — the tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stock — shares

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