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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: swing · trunk · ground · staff · kick · scale · prune · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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 — shares
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ground — a position
  6. scale — size or range
  7. staff — a stick
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — to trim
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. kick — in football
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. swing — to play on
  17. staff — employees
  18. swing — music
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. ground — crushed
  23. prune — the fruit
  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