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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: mate · straw · stick · file · chair · stock · trunk · plane

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mate — a friend
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. file — a tool
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. stock — shares
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. stock — goods
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. mate — a partner
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. mate — to breed
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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