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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · kick · stock · cap · fork · cold

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. 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. stock — goods
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stock — shares
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. rest — a break
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. 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