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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cap — a lid
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — to get on
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cap — of ice
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. stock — shares
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kick — in football
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. tube — the underground
  22. rash — a series
  23. fork — in a road
  24. branch — a division

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