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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bat — the animal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stock — shares
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. craft — a skill
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. craft — boats
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. trunk — of a car

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