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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 116 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. spring — the season
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mug — a cup
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bound — certain
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. branch — a division
  15. bound — obliged
  16. kick — in football
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. stock — goods
  21. mug — a face
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cold — not warm

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