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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. perch — the fish
  4. stock — shares
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. last — to go on
  10. sharp — clever
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. stock — goods
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. last — final
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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