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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: stock · roll · land · hand · cabinet · trunk · present · squash

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. roll — a list
  3. stock — goods
  4. land — ground
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. squash — to crush
  9. roll — a cake
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. present — a gift
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hand — help
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. squash — the sport
  19. stock — shares
  20. present — there
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. present — the time now
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. land — a country

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