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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: stock · court · kid · date · staff · chest · cap · toast

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. kid — to tease
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. staff — employees
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. staff — a stick
  13. kid — child
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — the fruit
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. court — of a king
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. staff — employees
  21. toast — bread
  22. court — of law
  23. stock — goods
  24. court — for sport

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