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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. race — the arms race
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stock — goods
  5. lean — thin
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. lean — to bend
  8. rule — government
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rule — a law
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cap — of ice
  16. race — a contest
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. race — humankind
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stock — shares
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bark — 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