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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. stock — shares
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. net — after costs
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. stock — goods
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. object — a thing
  13. net — in sport
  14. land — a country
  15. net — for catching
  16. kick — in football
  17. object — to protest
  18. chair — a leader
  19. game — a match
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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