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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cap — a lid
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. chip — to eat
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. chest — a box
  24. cap — a hat

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