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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. firm — a company
  4. track — to keep track
  5. firm — steady
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stock — shares
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. squash — to crush
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — goods
  14. cold — an illness
  15. track — a path
  16. firm — decided
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. track — a song
  24. squash — the sport

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