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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rock — music
  4. land — to come down
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. march — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. stock — shares
  9. cap — of ice
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. scale — in music
  13. stock — goods
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. land — a country
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cap — a lid
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. land — ground
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rock — a stone

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