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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. stock — shares
  12. board — to get on
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. board — a committee
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — goods
  24. board — a flat piece

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