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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. row — a line
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bound — obliged
  9. squash — to crush
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bat — the animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. degree — an amount
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stock — goods
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stock — shares
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bound — certain
  24. bat — in an idiom

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