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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. file — a tool
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. stock — shares
  5. clip — a video
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stock — goods
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mate — a friend
  11. net — after costs
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mate — a partner
  15. firm — steady
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mate — to breed
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. file — a document
  22. net — for catching
  23. firm — decided
  24. calf — a young animal

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