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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. staff — employees
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. can — to be able to
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. mine — for digging
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. roll — a cake
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chest — a box
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. can — a tin
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — a stick
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. staff — employees
  24. can — a tin

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