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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — for catching
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — in cards
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. perch — the fish
  13. band — a ring
  14. kid — child
  15. band — a music group
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stock — shares
  19. kid — to tease
  20. net — in sport
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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