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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: band · stock · row · saw · mug · kid · lie · trunk

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. kid — child
  9. mug — a face
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. band — a music group
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. band — a ring
  17. mug — a cup
  18. stock — shares
  19. row — a line
  20. mug — to rob
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stock — goods
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lie — to recline

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