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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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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: kid · saw · stock · stand · cap · trunk · tear · racket

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cap — a hat
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stand — to bear
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kid — to tease
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stock — shares
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cap — of ice
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. kid — child
  24. trunk — of a tree

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