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

Word bank: fall · race · pass · kid · trunk · stock · bat · leaves

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. fall — to drop
  4. race — a contest
  5. stock — goods
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — humankind
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stock — shares
  15. pass — a permit
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — to tease
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. fall — the season
  23. kid — child
  24. fall — to drop

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