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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. clip — to cut
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. stock — shares
  6. swing — in golf
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. court — of a king
  9. stock — goods
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hand — in cards
  15. court — for sport
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. bank — of a river
  19. court — of law
  20. bank — for money
  21. swing — music
  22. clip — a video
  23. bank — for money
  24. clip — for paper

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