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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. race — humankind
  10. date — the fruit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — from a university
  15. race — the arms race
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bear — the animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. race — a contest
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. game — a match
  24. degree — an amount

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