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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lie — to recline
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kick — in football
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. row — a line
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. stock — goods
  19. wound — an injury
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. sharp — clever

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