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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pit — a hole
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fork — in a road
  6. capital — a city
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. stock — shares
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pit — in a race
  22. capital — money
  23. shower — rain
  24. trunk — of a tree

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