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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. tube — the underground
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tube — a container
  12. board — a committee
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mark — a trace
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stock — shares
  21. mark — a grade
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cold — not warm
  24. board — to get 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