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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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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 · roll · stock · last · club · bound · ground · trunk

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ball — a dance
  6. last — to go on
  7. roll — a cake
  8. last — final
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. club — a group
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stock — shares
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ball — a great time
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — finally
  19. bound — tied together
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. roll — a list
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ground — a position
  24. bound — certain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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