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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: kid · board · spring · leaves · stock · sharp · trunk · capital

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. board — to get on
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. kid — child
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. sharp — clever
  11. kid — to tease
  12. board — a committee
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spring — the season
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. capital — a city
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stock — goods
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. capital — money
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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