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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — goods
  5. pop — soda
  6. march — the month
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pop — music
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — an illness
  18. calf — of the leg

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