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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. root — of a plant
  3. game — a match
  4. stock — shares
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pop — music
  7. rash — hasty
  8. clip — for paper
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stock — goods
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rash — a series
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — a video
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — to cut

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