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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — to protest
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pop — music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. stock — goods
  12. march — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. march — the month
  15. bass — the fish
  16. march — the month
  17. object — a thing
  18. bass — low music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stock — shares
  21. kick — in football
  22. pop — soda
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. key — in music

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