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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. file — a tool
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bound — tied together
  6. stock — shares
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bound — certain
  9. march — the month
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — the amount
  16. bound — obliged
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. march — music
  19. content — happy
  20. march — the month
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. file — a document
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. content — videos and posts

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