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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. row — to paddle
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — shares
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. stock — goods
  16. race — the arms race
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pit — in a race
  22. row — a line
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. lean — thin

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