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

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — goods
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — for catching
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — shares
  11. net — after costs
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. net — in sport
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mark — a trace

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