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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. stock — goods
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stock — shares
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. charge — a price
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. rush — hurry
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. track — to keep track
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. shower — rain
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. charge — electricity
  23. fork — in a road
  24. charge — in control

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