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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — for sport
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. stock — shares
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. chip — for betting
  10. club — for dancing
  11. court — of a king
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. court — of law
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cap — a lid
  19. stock — goods
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chip — to eat
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cap — of ice
  24. straw — dry grass

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