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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stock — shares
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bore — to drill
  17. stock — goods
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stock — a soup base

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