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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. game — wild animals
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. can — a tin
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. can — to be able to
  8. stock — shares
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. game — a match
  13. can — a tin
  14. clip — a video
  15. race — humankind
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. clip — to cut
  23. land — a country
  24. game — a kind of play

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