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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mug — a cup
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — help
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. march — the month
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stock — goods
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. mug — a face
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stock — shares
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mine — for digging

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