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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 116 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: suit · trunk · stock · sharp · bat · band · mine · pitcher

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. suit — to fit
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a music group
  13. suit — in cards
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. band — a ring
  22. bat — the animal
  23. suit — clothes
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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