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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: kid · tube · perch · sharp · cap · staff · stock · bat

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cap — a lid
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — goods
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. staff — employees
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tube — the underground
  11. kid — child
  12. cap — a hat
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cap — of ice
  18. stock — shares
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tube — a container
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. perch — the fish

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