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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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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: game · calf · tear · nail · pop · stock · wind · court

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. court — of law
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wind — moving air
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pop — soda
  9. game — a match
  10. stock — goods
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — shares
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. pop — music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — wild animals

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