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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: stock · field · kick · wax · trunk · straw · bound · face

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bound — tied together
  3. face — to confront
  4. field — a subject
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bound — certain
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stock — goods
  11. field — farmland
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wax — to grow
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bound — obliged
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. kick — in football
  24. field — for 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