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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — after costs
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bass — the fish
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bass — low music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. net — for catching
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kick — in football
  21. net — in sport
  22. fork — in a road
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stock — a soup base

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