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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tube — a container
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tube — the underground
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. file — a document
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. perch — the fish
  20. stock — shares
  21. file — a tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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