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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. current — of water
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — electric
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. current — happening now
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stock — shares
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — goods
  24. trunk — of a tree

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