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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — goods
  14. hand — in cards
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — in football

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