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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a ring
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bear — the animal
  6. scale — size or range
  7. deal — to handle
  8. band — a music group
  9. clip — to cut
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — shares
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bear — the animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. scale — in music
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stock — goods
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. clip — a video
  23. swing — music
  24. calf — a young animal

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