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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. current — happening now
  5. swing — music
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chest — a box
  10. swing — in golf
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. ground — a position
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stock — goods
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. chest — of your body
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ground — the earth

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