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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stock — shares
  3. mate — a partner
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mate — to breed
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. shower — to wash
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — rain
  14. stock — goods
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. vault — a safe

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