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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. spring — of water
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. swing — to play on
  6. tube — the underground
  7. craft — boats
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. stock — shares
  10. spring — the season
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stock — goods
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cap — a hat
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. tube — a container
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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