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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: cap · shower · pop · bay · stock · band · tube · chest

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. band — a music group
  4. pop — to visit
  5. tube — the underground
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. band — a ring
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. shower — rain
  10. cap — of ice
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stock — shares
  19. pop — music
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pop — soda
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tube — a container

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