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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stock — shares
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. net — in sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cap — a lid
  9. game — a match
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stock — goods
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rock — music
  15. net — after costs
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rock — a stone
  21. net — for catching
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rash — a series

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