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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stock — goods
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cap — of ice
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. roll — a cake
  24. straw — dry grass

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