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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: swing · stock · tube · calf · last · cold · pit · sharp

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. stock — goods
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. swing — to play on
  7. tube — a container
  8. last — final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. sharp — clever
  11. last — to go on
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. last — finally
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — in a race
  18. swing — music
  19. stock — shares
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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