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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — happy
  4. drill — the tool
  5. ground — crushed
  6. net — for catching
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. net — in sport
  12. stock — shares
  13. content — the amount
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. drill — army training
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. kick — in football
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. drill — a practice
  22. net — after costs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. lash — an eyelash

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