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

Word bank: cold · root · lash · stock · arm · kid · pit · lean

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. lean — thin
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. kid — child
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — to bend
  15. root — of a word
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pit — in a race
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stock — shares

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