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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cold — not warm
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — goods
  9. firm — decided
  10. kid — child
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. firm — steady
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. drill — a practice
  16. rush — hurry
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stock — shares
  19. drill — army training
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cold — an illness

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