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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stock — shares
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. face — to point toward
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. march — music
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. face — part of the head
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — goods
  19. clip — to cut
  20. face — to confront
  21. march — the month
  22. court — of a king
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ruler — for measuring

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