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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. cap — a lid
  3. mug — to rob
  4. chest — a box
  5. stock — shares
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. mug — a cup
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mug — a face
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. stock — goods
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. present — a gift
  21. court — of a king
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. present — there

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