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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: wind · stock · bound · root · cell · trunk · staff · last

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. root — the cause
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — final
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bound — tied together
  11. stock — shares
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — certain
  14. stock — goods
  15. staff — employees
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. root — of a word
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. last — to go on
  21. staff — employees
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bound — obliged

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