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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. march — the month
  8. net — after costs
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. march — music
  12. prune — to trim
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. march — the month
  16. land — ground
  17. net — in sport
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — a country
  24. stock — goods

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