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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: bat · trunk · club · sharp · calf · hand · stock · bound

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hand — help
  6. club — a group
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. club — for golf
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bound — obliged
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. hand — in cards
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. club — for dancing
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stock — goods
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bound — certain

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