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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 120 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: wave · trunk · shower · stock · temple · last · land · lie

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. land — ground
  3. stock — shares
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. land — to come down
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. last — to go on
  8. land — a country
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. last — finally
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. shower — to wash
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stock — goods
  21. last — final
  22. shower — rain
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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