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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. game — a match
  4. stock — goods
  5. capital — a city
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. scale — size or range
  12. game — wild animals
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. scale — in music
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cell — in biology
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. calf — a young animal

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