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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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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 · kid · cap · squash · wave · snap · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cap — a lid
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. squash — the sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. snap — to click
  8. stock — goods
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. squash — to crush
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. stock — shares
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rule — a law

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