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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stock — shares
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lean — thin
  10. staff — a stick
  11. net — for catching
  12. stock — goods
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — in sport
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. staff — employees
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. net — after costs
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. fan — to cool the air

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