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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — goods
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stock — shares
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a line of people
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fork — in a road
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a document
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rush — to hurry

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