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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · content · chair · band · squash · trunk · file · firm

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. band — a ring
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. file — a tool
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chair — a leader
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. file — a line of people
  15. firm — steady
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. firm — a company
  19. band — a music group
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. firm — decided
  24. file — a document

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