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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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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: mine · straw · fork · bat · stock · cap · rush · dip

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rush — hurry
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stock — goods
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bat — the animal
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fork — in a road
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cap — of ice

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