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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: wind · stock · ground · pop · pit · leaves · kick · trunk

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stock — goods
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pit — a hole
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. pop — soda
  22. stock — shares
  23. kick — in football
  24. pit — in a race

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