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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: trunk · stock · fork · spring · cell · lie · clip · swing

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spring — of water
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — a phone
  7. spring — the season
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fork — in a road
  10. lie — to recline
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stock — goods
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. swing — music
  24. stock — shares

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