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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — a song
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — a subject
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. scale — in music
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rock — music
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. field — farmland
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. field — for sport
  24. track — a path

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