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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bore — to tire
  8. board — a committee
  9. bore — to drill
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — goods
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. board — to get on
  15. fall — to drop
  16. file — a line of people
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. stock — shares
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bore — gave birth

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