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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — goods
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mug — a face
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. row — to paddle
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stock — shares
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chest — a box
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stock — a soup base

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