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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — to rip
  3. craft — boats
  4. cap — a lid
  5. court — of law
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. file — a line of people
  10. tear — from crying
  11. file — a document
  12. tear — from crying
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — a thing
  15. file — a tool
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. court — of a king
  18. object — an aim
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. court — for sport
  24. stock — shares

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