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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stock — goods
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. row — to paddle
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. row — a line
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hand — help
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — in football
  19. stock — shares
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rash — a series
  24. sharp — with an edge

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