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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — a hat
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a hole
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — a lid
  9. capital — a city
  10. stock — goods
  11. can — to be able to
  12. capital — money
  13. cold — not warm
  14. can — a tin
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cold — an illness
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. can — a tin
  24. coach — a trainer

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