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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. net — after costs
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. march — music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. march — the month
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. stock — shares
  17. net — in sport
  18. march — the month

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