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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cap — a lid
  4. present — a gift
  5. rule — government
  6. branch — a division
  7. scale — in music
  8. rule — a law
  9. present — the time now
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. present — there
  13. scale — size or range
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stock — shares
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cap — of ice
  21. kid — child
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cap — a hat
  24. scale — for weighing

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