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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stock — goods
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cap — a lid
  10. court — of a king
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. branch — a division
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — of law
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rest — what's left
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stock — shares
  20. perch — the fish
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. court — for sport
  24. cap — a hat

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