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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bass — low music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fine — high quality
  8. stock — shares
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. land — a country
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — the fish
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stock — goods
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cap — a lid
  17. hand — help
  18. cap — of ice
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fine — all right
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. kid — child

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