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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: wind · stock · ground · nail · prune · court · trunk · patient

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stock — goods
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. court — of a king
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. ground — the earth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. court — of law
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stock — shares
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — for sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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