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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. object — an aim
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rock — music
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — shares
  12. prune — to trim
  13. object — to protest
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rock — a stone
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stock — goods
  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