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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  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. stock — shares
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wake — a trail
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. stock — goods
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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