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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. kick — in football
  5. shower — to wash
  6. season — in sport
  7. track — a path
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. root — of a word
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pitch — completely
  15. root — the cause
  16. track — to keep track
  17. season — of the year
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. shower — rain
  21. track — a song
  22. snap — to click
  23. stock — shares
  24. pitch — a sports field

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