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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. court — for sport
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. clip — a video
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. race — a contest
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bore — to tire
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bore — to drill
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. race — the arms race
  13. court — of law
  14. stock — shares
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — humankind
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. tube — the underground
  20. court — of a king
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. tube — a container

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