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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stock — shares
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. lie — to recline
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stock — goods
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kid — child
  24. fall — the season

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