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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — help
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stock — goods
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bulb — for light
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. fall — the season
  16. stock — shares
  17. mate — a friend
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cold — an illness
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stock — a soup base

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