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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. scale — in music
  4. net — after costs
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — goods
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. net — in sport
  10. stock — shares
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pound — a weight
  14. net — for catching
  15. chest — a box
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. scale — size or range
  18. fine — all right
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fine — high quality
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. drill — army training

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