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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — a video
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stock — shares
  7. rash — a series
  8. last — finally
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cap — a lid
  12. swing — music
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fall — to drop
  15. last — to go on
  16. fall — the season
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cap — of ice
  22. last — final
  23. swing — to play on
  24. stock — goods

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