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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. rock — music
  4. stock — shares
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pop — to visit
  9. object — to protest
  10. cap — a hat
  11. face — to confront
  12. stock — goods
  13. face — part of the head
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pop — music
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — a thing
  18. face — to point toward
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rock — a stone
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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