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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rock — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stock — goods
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stock — shares
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. nail — on a finger

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