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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: cell · hand · chest · club · stock · can · trunk · field

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. club — for golf
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. cell — in biology
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. field — for sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. club — for dancing
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. field — a subject
  18. cell — a phone
  19. chest — a box
  20. can — a tin
  21. field — farmland
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. club — a group
  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