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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stock — goods
  3. rest — what's left
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. can — to be able to
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. row — to paddle
  11. can — a tin
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. ball — a dance
  15. row — a line
  16. race — a contest
  17. rest — what's left
  18. race — the arms race
  19. stock — shares
  20. ball — a great time
  21. can — a tin
  22. kick — in football
  23. rest — a break
  24. race — humankind

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