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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. staff — a stick
  3. clip — to cut
  4. present — a gift
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spell — magic
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stock — goods
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stock — shares
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. present — there
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. staff — employees
  19. cap — of ice
  20. tear — from crying
  21. present — the time now
  22. clip — a video
  23. tear — to rip
  24. stock — a soup base

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