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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. kid — to tease
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. stock — goods
  9. net — after costs
  10. rest — a break
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — final
  13. net — for catching
  14. rush — hurry
  15. last — to go on
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. last — finally
  23. net — in sport
  24. rush — a thrill

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