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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fine — all right
  5. fall — to drop
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fall — to drop
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. net — in sport
  11. kid — child
  12. stock — shares
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. net — for catching
  19. fall — the season
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. net — after costs
  24. wax — for sculpting

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