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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. sharp — clever
  5. land — ground
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. clip — a video
  10. fine — all right
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. fine — high quality
  19. stock — shares
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. stock — goods

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