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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: trunk · net · stock · club · court · calf · last · fan

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. court — of a king
  4. last — final
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. last — finally
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. court — of law
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. club — for golf
  11. stock — goods
  12. club — a group
  13. net — in sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — for catching
  17. last — to go on
  18. net — after costs
  19. stock — shares
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. court — for sport
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  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