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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cap — a lid
  3. stock — shares
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. stock — goods
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spring — of water
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cap — a hat
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cap — of ice
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spring — the season
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. season — to add flavour

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