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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stock — goods
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. capital — a city
  7. mine — for digging
  8. land — a country
  9. stock — shares
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. land — to come down
  12. rash — a series
  13. club — for dancing
  14. rash — hasty
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — money
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. land — ground
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. capital — a big letter

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