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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: cold · stock · stand · kick · saw · can · trunk · rash

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. can — a tin
  4. rash — a series
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kick — in football
  7. can — a tin
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. can — to be able to
  12. stand — to bear
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stock — shares
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. stock — goods
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. trunk — of a tree

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