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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ball — a great time
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bound — tied together
  5. clip — a video
  6. bound — certain
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. branch — a division
  15. clip — for paper
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ball — a dance
  20. stock — shares
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bound — obliged
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. stock — goods

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