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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. scale — in music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. tear — from crying
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. lean — to bend
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. bulb — for light
  14. scale — size or range
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. stock — goods
  19. lean — thin
  20. tear — to rip
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. game — a match
  24. track — a path

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