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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — in sport
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — a law
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. season — of the year
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chest — a box
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. chest — of your body

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