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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. spring — of water
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — clever
  7. spring — a coil
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spring — the season
  10. drill — the tool
  11. spell — letters
  12. drill — army training
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. spell — a short time
  15. drill — a practice
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stock — goods
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. sharp — exactly

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