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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. last — final
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — to go on
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. stock — goods
  14. last — finally
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wax — to grow
  17. degree — from a university
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rush — hurry
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stock — shares

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