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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. season — of the year
  3. mate — a partner
  4. season — in sport
  5. pop — soda
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. kick — in football
  9. stock — shares
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pop — music
  18. mate — to breed
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. stock — goods
  24. wind — moving air

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