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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 116 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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. swing — to play on
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. swing — music
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. stock — shares
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — goods
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bark — a dog's sound

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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