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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stock — shares
  3. net — in sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. net — after costs
  9. game — a match
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. deal — to handle
  12. dip — to sink
  13. kick — in football
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. net — for catching
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. chair — a leader
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. snap — to click
  24. dip — a sauce

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