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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stock — goods
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fork — in a road
  6. saw — the tool
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. court — of law
  12. pound — a weight
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stock — shares
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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