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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stock — goods
  5. bass — low music
  6. tube — the underground
  7. field — a subject
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. field — farmland
  11. clip — a video
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bore — to drill
  14. race — humankind
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. tube — a container
  17. bore — to tire
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stock — shares
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. field — for sport
  24. race — the arms race

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