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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. stock — shares
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bore — to drill
  12. snap — to click
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kick — in football
  21. cap — of ice
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. stock — goods

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