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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lean — thin
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bore — to tire
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stock — shares
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bore — to drill
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. saw — the tool
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — to bend
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — the season
  24. court — of a king

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