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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chair — a leader
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. race — humankind
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. race — a contest
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stock — shares
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mine — belonging to me

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