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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — the tool
  8. board — to get on
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. last — final
  12. saw — the tool
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. shower — rain
  20. stock — shares
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — a measure
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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