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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stock — goods
  4. face — to point toward
  5. file — a document
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stock — shares
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. face — to confront
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. face — part of the head
  17. file — a line of people
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. file — a tool
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pound — a weight
  24. rock — a stone

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