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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 120 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 · hide · land · sharp · mine · stock · bowl · club

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. club — a group
  5. stock — shares
  6. land — a country
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. stock — goods
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. club — for golf
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. club — for dancing
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hide — animal skin

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