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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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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: ball · kid · march · club · trunk · mouse · snap · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — the month
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — the month
  11. snap — to click
  12. club — a group
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stock — goods
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — child
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. march — music

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