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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — crushed
  4. club — for golf
  5. firm — decided
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. clip — a video
  8. club — for dancing
  9. clip — for paper
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. sharp — clever
  12. firm — a company
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. firm — steady
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. club — a group
  18. pitch — completely
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ground — a position
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. clip — to cut

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