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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: stock · cold · trunk · mine · mug · branch · rock · arm

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. rock — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — goods
  11. mug — a cup
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mug — a face
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stock — shares

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