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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. net — in sport
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. content — happy
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. net — for catching
  13. scale — in music
  14. row — to paddle
  15. scale — size or range
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ball — a great time
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. row — a line
  20. ball — a dance
  21. net — after costs
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. content — the amount

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