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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: fork · staff · bay · court · kid · foot · stock · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kid — child
  7. foot — a measure
  8. stock — goods
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. court — of law
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. court — for sport
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stock — shares
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. court — of a king
  24. staff — employees

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