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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. track — a path
  9. stock — goods
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. track — to keep track
  14. kick — in football
  15. track — a song
  16. file — a tool
  17. ball — a dance
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lie — to recline
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. lean — thin
  23. ball — a great time
  24. kick — with a leg

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