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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stock — goods
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — to come down
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. land — ground
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. present — there
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cold — an illness
  17. present — the time now
  18. stock — shares
  19. rock — music
  20. dip — to sink
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cold — not warm
  23. land — a country
  24. rock — a stone

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