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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 124 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. staff — employees
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. lie — to recline
  19. stock — shares
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. sharp — clever
  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