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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stock — goods
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. season — of the year
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stock — shares
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tear — from crying
  16. season — in sport
  17. kick — in football
  18. last — final
  19. spring — a coil
  20. tear — to rip
  21. last — to go on
  22. hand — help
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hand — in cards

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