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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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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: arm · stock · bowl · cell · craft · tear · firm · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. tear — to rip
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cell — a phone
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stock — goods
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. firm — a company
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. tear — from crying
  17. firm — steady
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. craft — boats
  22. firm — decided
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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