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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stock — shares
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stock — goods
  7. shower — rain
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. track — a song
  10. shower — to wash
  11. track — a path
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cell — in biology
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. track — to keep track
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cell — a phone
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. kick — in football

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