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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pitch — completely
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bat — the animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stock — goods
  15. branch — a division
  16. row — a line
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. stock — shares
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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