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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. stock — goods
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. last — to go on
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kick — in football
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. band — a ring
  12. last — finally
  13. band — a music group
  14. branch — a division
  15. court — of law
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. last — final
  18. court — of a king
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. court — for sport
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. stock — shares

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