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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — a box
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stock — shares
  16. pop — music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pop — to visit
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pop — soda
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. stock — goods
  24. kick — in football

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