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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. row — a line
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. can — to be able to
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — temperature
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. stock — shares
  13. row — to paddle
  14. can — a tin
  15. cap — a lid
  16. degree — from a university
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cap — of ice
  24. nail — on a finger

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