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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stock — goods
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. stock — shares
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lie — to recline
  13. bat — the animal
  14. current — of water
  15. kid — child
  16. key — for a lock
  17. present — a gift
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. current — happening now
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. key — in music
  22. current — electric
  23. key — the most important part
  24. trunk — of a tree

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