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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: band · content · trunk · can · stock · wave · straw · bat

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. content — happy
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stock — goods
  10. content — the amount
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. band — a music group
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. can — a tin
  19. stock — shares
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wave — with your hand

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