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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. staff — employees
  3. race — humankind
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. current — happening now
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chest — a box
  11. stock — shares
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — goods
  14. staff — a stick
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chair — a leader
  18. race — a contest
  19. staff — employees
  20. race — the arms race
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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