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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stock — shares
  5. bark — to shout
  6. race — humankind
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fall — the season
  17. stock — goods
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stock — a soup base
  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