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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 120 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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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: current · band · chest · staff · rule · prune · stock · trunk

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. staff — a stick
  4. band — a music group
  5. current — happening now
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rule — government
  10. chest — a box
  11. prune — to trim
  12. staff — employees
  13. band — a ring
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. current — electric
  16. rule — a law
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. prune — to trim
  20. current — of water
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. chest — of your body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. staff — employees

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