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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cue — for pool
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — child
  5. cue — a signal
  6. stock — goods
  7. capital — money
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cap — a hat
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cue — a hint
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — for paper
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — to cut
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. clip — a video
  19. deal — to handle
  20. stock — shares
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cap — of ice
  24. capital — a big letter

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