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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: track · trunk · hand · game · press · foot · stock · kid

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. press — to push
  4. press — newspapers
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stock — shares
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. track — a path
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. track — a song
  15. kid — child
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. stock — goods
  20. track — to keep track
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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