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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stock — goods
  5. degree — temperature
  6. object — a thing
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stock — shares
  11. kick — in football
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. last — finally
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. object — an aim
  22. last — final
  23. object — to protest
  24. prune — to trim

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