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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bear — the animal
  8. can — to be able to
  9. bear — the animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — a country
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. land — to come down
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. can — a tin
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stock — goods
  22. land — ground
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stock — shares

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