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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. charge — a price
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. charge — electricity
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pass — a permit
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. stock — goods
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lean — to bend
  21. perch — the fish
  22. charge — in control
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — a soup base

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