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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stock — shares
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stock — goods
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cell — a phone
  13. game — a match
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against

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