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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: mate · stock · lash · chair · trunk · wind · rush · root

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mate — to breed
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. root — the cause
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. stock — shares
  13. mate — a friend
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rush — hurry
  17. stock — goods
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. root — of a word
  24. rush — to hurry

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