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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stock — shares
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. game — wild animals
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pop — music
  10. game — a match
  11. stock — goods
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pop — to visit
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — soda
  21. rock — music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. game — a kind of play

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