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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cap — of ice
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mine — for digging
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. stock — goods
  13. march — the month
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stem — to come from
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. stock — shares
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. march — music
  23. plane — a tool
  24. march — the month

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