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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 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. can — a tin
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. cap — of ice
  13. chip — to eat
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. chip — for betting
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chip — in a computer

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