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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. shower — to wash
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kick — in football
  10. shower — rain
  11. content — happy
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. root — of a word
  14. stock — shares
  15. root — of a plant
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. root — the cause
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stock — goods

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