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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stock — shares
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. net — for catching
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. net — after costs
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kid — child
  17. staff — a stick
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. prune — to trim
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spell — magic
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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