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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 120 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. pop — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pop — soda
  10. bound — certain
  11. stock — goods
  12. spring — of water
  13. kick — in football
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stock — shares
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bound — tied together
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pop — to visit
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chair — a leader

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