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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. stock — shares
  4. net — for catching
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — part of the head
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. net — in sport
  12. clip — to cut
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. stock — goods
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — of law
  23. net — after costs
  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