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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 124 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — shares
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lean — to bend
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. tube — a container
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cap — a hat
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stock — goods
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. lean — thin

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