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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pop — soda
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — goods
  7. march — music
  8. kick — in football
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. stock — shares
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. game — a match
  17. deal — to handle
  18. kid — to tease
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. kid — child
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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