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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 · shower · nail · fine · foot · march · pound · stock

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. foot — a measure
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fine — high quality
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. march — music
  10. stock — goods
  11. fine — all right
  12. stock — shares
  13. shower — rain
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pound — a weight
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. nail — for a hammer

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