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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. scale — in music
  8. track — a song
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. scale — size or range
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. stock — shares
  18. sharp — clever
  19. track — a path
  20. chip — to eat
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stock — goods

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