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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stock — goods
  3. object — a thing
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. object — to protest
  6. cap — a lid
  7. court — for sport
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. court — of a king
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kick — in football
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. object — an aim
  17. cap — of ice
  18. scale — in music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. scale — size or range
  22. court — of law
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cold — an illness

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