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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — soda
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — to visit
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. pop — music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. land — ground
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. land — a country

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