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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.

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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: ruler · sharp · trunk · mine · clip · shower · press · stock

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. shower — to wash
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. clip — for paper
  6. press — a publisher
  7. stock — goods
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. sharp — clever
  11. clip — a video
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. press — to push
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — shares
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — rain
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. clip — to cut
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. press — newspapers

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