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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: band · racket · deal · stock · chest · rash · clip · trunk

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. clip — a video
  3. chest — of your body
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stock — goods
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. deal — to handle
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. band — a music group
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. band — a ring
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. stock — shares
  24. band — a rubber band

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