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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 · stock · club · snap · shower · spell · calf · pass

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spell — letters
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. club — for golf
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. club — a group
  11. snap — to click
  12. shower — to wash
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pass — a permit
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. stock — shares
  20. shower — rain
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. stock — goods

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