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

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stock — goods
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — shares
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. season — of the year
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bark — to shout
  18. season — in sport

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