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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. roll — a cake
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stock — goods
  13. wound — an injury
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. net — after costs

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