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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stock — goods
  3. scale — size or range
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cue — a hint
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cue — a signal
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. scale — in music
  13. track — a song
  14. ground — the earth
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. stock — shares
  17. track — a path
  18. band — a ring
  19. ground — a position
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cue — for pool
  24. track — to keep track

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