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

Word bank: stock · ruler · chest · hide · ball · wind · snap · calf

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stock — shares
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. ball — a dance
  21. stock — goods
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. chest — a box

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