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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. track — a song
  3. cue — for pool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stock — shares
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. track — a path
  12. stock — goods
  13. season — of the year
  14. chest — a box
  15. cue — a hint
  16. chest — of your body
  17. season — in sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cue — a signal
  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