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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: snap · march · foot · stock · cap · perch · spring · race

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stock — goods
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — a coil
  10. march — the month
  11. snap — to click
  12. stock — shares
  13. race — a contest
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. perch — the fish
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. spring — of water
  19. march — music
  20. foot — a measure
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cap — a lid
  23. race — humankind
  24. march — the month

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