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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cap — a lid
  3. march — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stock — goods
  6. cap — of ice
  7. stock — shares
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. object — to protest
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. march — the month
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chip — to eat
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cap — a hat
  19. band — a music group
  20. object — a thing
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. object — an aim

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