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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. lean — thin
  4. rush — hurry
  5. stock — shares
  6. kick — in football
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bank — of a river
  9. stock — goods
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. file — a document
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bank — for money
  20. lean — to bend
  21. file — a tool
  22. bank — for money
  23. cold — not warm
  24. file — a line of people

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