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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · kick · fork · wind · drill · land · safe · ground

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — goods
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. land — ground
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. ground — a position
  10. drill — army training
  11. ground — crushed
  12. kick — in football
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — a country
  18. drill — the tool
  19. stock — shares
  20. fork — in a road
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. drill — a practice
  23. land — to come down
  24. safe — a strongbox

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