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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hand — help
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kick — in football
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stock — goods
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. foot — a measure
  22. stem — to come from
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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