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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 124 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. spring — of water
  4. last — finally
  5. spring — a coil
  6. swing — music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. last — final
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stock — goods
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stock — shares
  21. swing — to play on
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spring — the season
  24. bat — for baseball

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