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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. stock — shares
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. can — a tin
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. tube — a container
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stock — goods
  17. tube — the underground
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. can — a tin
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. can — to be able to

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