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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. file — a line of people
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cue — a hint
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — shares
  9. cue — for pool
  10. chest — a box
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. file — a tool
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cue — a signal
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bark — to shout
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. file — a document

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