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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. hand — help
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. stock — goods
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. roll — a list
  10. sharp — clever
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. roll — a cake
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. kick — in football
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mate — a partner
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mate — to breed

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