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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. deal — to handle
  3. stock — goods
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stock — shares
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cell — in biology
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. coach — a trainer

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