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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: sharp · trunk · rash · swing · saw · stem · capital · stock

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stock — shares
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. swing — to play on
  11. capital — a city
  12. swing — music
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stock — goods
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rash — hasty
  19. saw — the tool
  20. swing — in golf
  21. capital — money
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rash — a series
  24. stem — of a plant

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