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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: stock · chest · clip · racket · craft · trunk · spell · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spell — letters
  6. chest — a box
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stock — shares
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. craft — boats
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. craft — a skill
  16. spell — magic
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. clip — a video
  19. spell — a short time
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ground — a position
  24. trunk — of a car

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