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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bank — for money
  3. chest — a box
  4. stock — shares
  5. tube — a container
  6. bank — of a river
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stock — goods
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. game — a match
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bank — for money
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. tube — in a tire

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