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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 · trunk · bass · sharp · chair · saw · date · kid

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. stock — shares
  10. kid — child
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bass — low music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bass — the fish
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. date — the fruit
  23. stock — goods
  24. kid — to tease

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