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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 · roll · season · stem · sharp · march · stock · lean

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. season — of the year
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. lean — thin
  9. roll — a list
  10. lean — to bend
  11. march — the month
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stock — goods
  14. season — in sport
  15. stock — shares
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. roll — a cake
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — clever
  23. march — music
  24. trunk — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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