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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. stock — goods
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pit — in a race
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. field — for sport
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — a hat
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. field — a subject
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — farmland
  19. stock — shares
  20. cap — of ice
  21. pit — a hole
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cap — a lid
  24. tube — a container

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