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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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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cold — not warm
  15. staff — employees
  16. last — to go on
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. stock — shares
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. staff — employees
  24. rest — what's left

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