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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lean — to bend
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stock — shares
  10. key — for a lock
  11. present — there
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. roll — a cake
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. present — a gift
  18. roll — a list
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. fork — in a road
  22. present — the time now
  23. lean — thin
  24. roll — on a roll

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