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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 120 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. club — for golf
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. club — for dancing
  9. dip — to sink
  10. stock — goods
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. march — the month
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. club — a group
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — crushed
  23. march — music
  24. wind — moving air

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