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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rock — music
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stock — goods
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. content — the amount
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. content — happy
  13. stock — shares
  14. saw — the tool
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. shower — rain
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mouse — the animal

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