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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 116 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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. last — final
  3. staff — a stick
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. kick — in football
  11. last — finally
  12. stock — shares
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. staff — employees
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — to go on
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stock — goods
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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