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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cap — a hat
  3. craft — boats
  4. track — a song
  5. rock — music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rock — a stone
  8. scale — in music
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. track — a path
  13. bat — the animal
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stock — goods
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rock — to move gently
  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