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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wake — a trail
  6. capital — a city
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. capital — money
  12. stock — goods
  13. bound — obliged
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bank — for money
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bound — certain
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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