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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — a city
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. capital — money
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rash — a series
  10. plane — a tool
  11. row — a line
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cap — a lid
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cap — of ice
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. plane — an aircraft

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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