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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bound — tied together
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. stock — shares
  6. bound — certain
  7. net — after costs
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pound — a weight
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. stock — goods
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cap — a lid

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