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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stock — goods
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bat — the animal
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rock — a stone
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. ground — the earth
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. stock — shares
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ground — a position
  24. cold — the Cold War

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