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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. spell — magic
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stock — goods
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bulb — for light
  8. row — to paddle
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. stock — shares
  14. pit — in a race
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. row — a line
  17. spell — letters
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bulb — for light
  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