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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. squash — to crush
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stock — shares
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pop — soda
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kick — in football
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. hand — help
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. kick — a thrill

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