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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. stock — shares
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. field — a subject
  10. kick — in football
  11. cell — in biology
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. field — farmland
  14. court — of a king
  15. swing — to play on
  16. court — of law
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — for sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — for sport
  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