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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bank — of a river
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rash — a series
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rash — hasty
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — the time now
  15. bank — for money
  16. hand — help
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. shower — rain
  21. present — there
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. present — a gift
  24. bank — for money

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