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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stand — to bear
  5. kid — to tease
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stock — shares
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stock — goods
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cap — a hat
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stand — on your feet

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