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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spring — of water
  4. stock — shares
  5. pop — music
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. net — in sport
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pop — soda
  11. stock — goods
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. net — for catching
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pop — to visit
  17. net — after costs
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kick — in football
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wave — of the sea

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