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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stock — goods
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. deal — to handle
  9. shower — rain
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kick — in football
  13. last — final
  14. board — to get on
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. last — finally
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. board — a committee
  23. stock — shares
  24. deal — a big deal

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