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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: trunk · ground · perch · land · ball · stock · chair · face

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. face — to point toward
  3. ball — a dance
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. land — to come down
  7. stock — shares
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ground — the earth
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. face — part of the head
  17. land — a country
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. face — to confront
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ball — a great time
  23. land — ground
  24. perch — for a bird

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