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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. stock — goods
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. tear — to rip
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — an injury
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chair — a leader
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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