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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. swing — music
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. stock — shares
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — the underground
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. swing — to play on
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. tube — a container
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. ground — a position
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. shower — rain
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kick — in football
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. swing — in golf
  24. stock — goods

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