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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stock — goods
  3. last — finally
  4. band — a music group
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cue — for pool
  7. press — a publisher
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cue — a signal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. last — to go on
  15. band — a ring
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cue — a hint
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. stock — shares
  21. last — final
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. press — to push
  24. calf — of the leg

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