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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. present — the time now
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — a gift
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — a box
  12. cell — a phone
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kid — child
  17. pound — a weight
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. chest — of your body
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. present — there

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