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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. band — a music group
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cold — not warm
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stock — goods
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lash — to lash out

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