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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. court — of a king
  6. stock — shares
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. court — for sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mine — for digging

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