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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. kick — in football
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cell — a phone
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. stock — shares
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. sharp — clever
  17. stock — goods
  18. chip — for betting
  19. branch — a division
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. kick — a thrill

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