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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: rash · plane · scale · hand · stock · trunk · court · stand

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stock — shares
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. court — of a king
  6. stock — goods
  7. hand — help
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — in cards
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. stand — to bear
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. court — for sport
  23. plane — a tool
  24. scale — size or range

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