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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cap — of ice
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. kid — child
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — of water
  9. can — a tin
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stock — goods
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. can — a tin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. stock — shares
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fork — in a road
  23. can — to be able to
  24. spring — the season

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