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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 · bark · kid · nail · snap · bat · cap · toast

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cap — of ice
  4. kid — child
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cap — a lid
  13. kid — to tease
  14. snap — to click
  15. stock — shares
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. toast — bread
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stock — goods
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. nail — for a hammer

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