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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · pit · fork · stock · date · cold · hide · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stock — shares
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. degree — temperature
  13. date — the fruit
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fork — in a road

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