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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bore — to tire
  4. board — to get on
  5. degree — temperature
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. kick — in football
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. sharp — clever
  15. court — of a king
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. stock — goods
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. bore — to drill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. degree — an amount

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