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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a document
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. field — a subject
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. field — for sport
  14. plane — a tool
  15. squash — to crush
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cap — of ice
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. field — farmland
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a tool
  23. cap — a lid
  24. squash — the vegetable

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