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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. firm — steady
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. firm — a company
  5. hand — help
  6. stock — goods
  7. band — a ring
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. hand — in cards
  10. firm — decided
  11. net — for catching
  12. mine — for digging
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. stock — shares
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. net — in sport
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. net — after costs

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