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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. stock — goods
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stock — shares
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. swing — music
  16. kick — in football
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rush — 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