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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. suit — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. track — a path
  6. cold — not warm
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kick — in football
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stock — shares
  14. branch — a division
  15. stock — goods
  16. hand — help
  17. bound — tied together
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — a song

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