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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. snap — to click
  3. roll — a cake
  4. field — for sport
  5. rule — government
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. rule — a law
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. roll — a list
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. file — a document
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. field — farmland
  19. file — a line of people
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. file — a tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. stock — shares

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