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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kick — in football
  4. fall — the season
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. band — a music group
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. lean — to bend
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. band — a ring
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — help
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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