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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. last — final
  3. tear — from crying
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — a container
  8. key — in music
  9. last — to go on
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stock — goods
  15. last — finally
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — from crying
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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