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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cap — of ice
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — to crush
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. stock — goods
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — a phone
  23. kid — child
  24. stock — a soup base

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