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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. drill — a practice
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. band — a music group
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. stock — goods
  18. band — a ring
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. vault — a safe
  21. drill — army training
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — not warm
  24. racket — a loud noise

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