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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: stock · ground · squash · cap · bass · wound · roll · trunk

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the fish
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cap — a lid
  10. roll — a list
  11. ground — a position
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stock — shares
  15. bass — low music
  16. stock — goods
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cap — a hat
  24. squash — the sport

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