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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. stock — shares
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stock — goods
  10. march — the month
  11. object — a thing
  12. rash — a series
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mine — for digging
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. march — music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. march — the month
  21. pit — in a race
  22. rash — hasty
  23. object — to protest
  24. pit — a hole

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