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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cap — a hat
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rule — government
  5. stock — goods
  6. bat — the animal
  7. hand — help
  8. track — a song
  9. rule — a law
  10. drill — the tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. drill — army training
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. stock — shares
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. track — a path
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cap — a lid

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