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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. fine — all right
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. game — a match
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cap — of ice
  16. stock — shares
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cap — a hat
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. fine — high quality
  22. stock — goods
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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