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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: calf · cold · track · trunk · arm · court · date · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. track — a song
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. cold — an illness
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. date — the fruit
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. court — of law
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. court — of a king
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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