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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stock — goods
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — for dancing
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — shares
  14. file — a tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. club — for golf
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. club — a group
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lean — thin

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