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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: ball · trunk · scale · stock · stand · bat · land · wound

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. stock — shares
  10. scale — in music
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. land — to come down
  13. ball — a great time
  14. land — a country
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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