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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. stock — shares
  4. cap — a lid
  5. swing — in golf
  6. ground — crushed
  7. last — final
  8. stock — goods
  9. ground — a position
  10. swing — to play on
  11. last — to go on
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. last — finally
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. field — farmland
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. field — for sport
  19. ground — the earth
  20. field — a subject
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. swing — music
  24. foot — a measure

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