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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. vault — a safe
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. file — a document
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. file — a tool
  15. pitch — completely
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. file — a line of people
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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