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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 116 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. deal — to handle
  5. can — a tin
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. land — to come down
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — a country
  13. stock — goods
  14. can — a tin
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — ground
  18. capital — money
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. stock — a soup base
  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