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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 · race · chest · mouse · hand · trunk · lean · bat

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — the arms race
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. race — a contest
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lean — thin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stock — shares
  24. chest — a box

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