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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: foot · stock · sharp · chest · degree · stick · trunk · spell

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — letters
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. spell — magic
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. spell — a short time
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — of your body
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. stock — goods
  24. sharp — with an edge

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