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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. last — final
  3. row — a line
  4. branch — a division
  5. shower — rain
  6. pop — soda
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pop — music
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pop — to visit
  12. last — finally
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. last — to go on
  21. shower — to wash
  22. row — to paddle
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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