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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lean — to bend
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. fork — in a road
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. stock — shares
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. branch — a division
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. ball — a dance
  14. lean — thin
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. row — a line
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. stock — goods
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. row — to paddle
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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