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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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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: rest · hide · sharp · rock · stock · cap · kid · band

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rest — a break
  9. band — a music group
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. cap — a hat
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rest — what's left
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cap — of ice
  24. sharp — clever

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