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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: ground · staff · squash · calf · wax · spring · face · stock

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. face — part of the head
  5. squash — the sport
  6. staff — a stick
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wax — to grow
  9. stock — goods
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. ground — crushed
  12. staff — employees
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. face — to confront
  16. ground — the earth
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. ground — a position
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stock — shares

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