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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: bear · chair · race · wound · key · trunk · stem · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stock — goods
  4. race — a contest
  5. stem — to come from
  6. chair — a leader
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. race — the arms race
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. race — humankind
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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