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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · trunk · stock · fine · hide · tear · degree · wound

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. fine — high quality
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fine — all right
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. wound — an injury
  19. band — a ring
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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