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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 116 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: ball · stock · cap · trunk · leaves · hand · wake · last

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cap — a lid
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. hand — help
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. last — final
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. stock — goods
  12. last — to go on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. last — finally
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. stock — shares
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. ball — a dance
  24. wake — a trail

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