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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. 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. land — to come down
  3. cap — a lid
  4. stock — goods
  5. field — for sport
  6. land — a country
  7. last — to go on
  8. field — farmland
  9. wax — to grow
  10. last — final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pit — in a race
  13. field — a subject
  14. land — ground
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pit — a hole
  21. last — finally
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. 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