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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hand — help
  5. ground — a position
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — in football
  8. mug — to rob
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. suit — to fit
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mug — a cup
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — a match
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — in cards
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. mug — a face
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  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