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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. club — for golf
  3. kid — child
  4. kick — in football
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. stock — shares
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — to crush
  15. club — a group
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. saw — the tool
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chest — a box
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. squash — the sport

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