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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. season — in sport
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. net — for catching
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pop — soda
  7. fork — in a road
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — an amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — after costs
  15. stock — shares
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. content — the amount
  18. pop — music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pop — to visit
  21. net — in sport
  22. content — happy
  23. stock — goods
  24. season — of the year

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