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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ball — a dance
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rock — music
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. row — a line
  17. stock — shares
  18. rock — a stone
  19. ground — a position
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. stock — goods
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cell — in a prison

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