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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 124 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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. snap — to click
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. suit — in cards
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. row — to paddle
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. squash — the sport
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. suit — clothes
  14. stock — shares
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. suit — to fit
  21. kick — in football
  22. mine — for digging
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. arm — part of the body

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