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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stock — goods
  3. land — to come down
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. wax — to grow
  12. squash — to crush
  13. land — a country
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pass — a permit
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — ground
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chip — to eat
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. chip — for betting

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