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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: straw · stock · mouse · trunk · lean · bark · shower · wax

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wax — to grow
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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