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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · spell · bay · chair · stock · kid · prune · calf

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. kid — to tease
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. spell — letters
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stock — goods
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stock — shares
  16. spell — magic
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. kid — child
  21. prune — to trim
  22. net — for catching
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. prune — the fruit

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