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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stock — shares
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stock — goods
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. game — a match
  17. dip — to sink
  18. court — for sport
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  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