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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stock — goods
  5. tube — a container
  6. saw — the tool
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stock — shares
  9. hand — in cards
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. drill — army training
  13. tube — the underground
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. deal — to handle
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. drill — a practice
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tube — in a tire

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