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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. net — in sport
  3. perch — the fish
  4. net — for catching
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. stock — shares
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. track — a song
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. last — final
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. stock — goods
  19. track — a path
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. track — to keep track
  22. net — after costs
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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