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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 120 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spring — of water
  4. cue — a signal
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stock — goods
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stock — shares
  19. cue — for pool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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