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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. land — a country
  4. scale — in music
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. land — ground
  7. stock — shares
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cap — a lid
  16. sharp — clever
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. scale — size or range
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stock — goods
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. land — to come down
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. scale — for weighing

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