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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · land · file · scale · trunk · stock · degree · fork

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. land — a country
  3. stock — goods
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — to come down
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fork — in a road
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — in music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. file — a tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. stock — shares
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. fork — to eat with

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