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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — a series
  6. spell — a short time
  7. game — wild animals
  8. object — an aim
  9. game — a match
  10. spell — letters
  11. kid — child
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. object — a thing
  16. spell — magic
  17. rash — hasty
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. calf — a young animal

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