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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bark — to shout
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stock — shares
  10. tube — the underground
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — goods
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rest — a break
  20. kid — child
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. rest — what's left

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