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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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 — goods
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stock — shares
  5. rest — a break
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. field — a subject
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — for sport
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pit — in a race
  22. rest — what's left
  23. field — farmland
  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