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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stock — goods
  7. court — of a king
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stock — shares
  10. rest — a break
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — of law
  14. land — ground
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — a country
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. court — for sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. lean — to bend
  22. land — to come down
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mark — a grade

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