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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ground — a position
  3. land — a country
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. stock — goods
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. ground — crushed
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — to protest
  12. drill — army training
  13. saw — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. object — an aim
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. stock — shares
  23. drill — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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