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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: degree · racket · trunk · wind · stock · lean · snap · roll

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. degree — from a university
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lean — to bend
  6. roll — a list
  7. lean — thin
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. degree — temperature
  14. roll — a cake
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stock — goods
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. lean — to rest against

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