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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — help
  3. kick — in football
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. clip — to cut
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stock — shares
  15. bore — to tire
  16. stock — goods
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. clip — a video
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bore — to drill
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stock — a soup base

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