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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cue — a hint
  4. net — for catching
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. land — ground
  7. cue — a signal
  8. net — in sport
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cue — for pool
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. land — to come down
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. net — after costs
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. land — a country
  24. stock — a soup base

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