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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. fine — all right
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — shares
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — help
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stock — goods
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. scale — in music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fine — high quality
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rock — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. scale — size or range

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