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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. current — of water
  6. stock — shares
  7. current — electric
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — goods
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. current — happening now
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. chest — a box
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rule — government
  19. kick — in football
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. rule — a law
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lash — an eyelash

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