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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. net — after costs
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bound — certain
  8. stock — goods
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bound — tied together
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stock — shares
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. game — a match
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — for catching
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. degree — from a university

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