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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. swing — to play on
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. drill — army training
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. shower — to wash
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. stock — goods
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. drill — the tool
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. swing — in golf
  19. shower — rain
  20. lean — thin
  21. kick — in football
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. swing — music

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