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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: trunk · stock · mine · rule · wake · wind · net · mark

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stock — shares
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mark — a trace
  14. net — in sport
  15. stock — goods
  16. rule — a law
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. net — after costs
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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