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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — finally
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — to go on
  6. stock — shares
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. row — to paddle
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. last — final
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. root — the cause
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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