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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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Word bank
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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: pit · cap · stock · spring · land · last · bore · can

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spring — the season
  10. last — final
  11. land — to come down
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. can — a tin
  14. cap — a lid
  15. land — ground
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — finally
  19. bore — to tire
  20. last — to go on
  21. land — a country
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. spring — of water

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