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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pop — music
  3. roll — a list
  4. tear — from crying
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. stock — goods
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pop — to visit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. roll — a cake
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pop — soda
  24. plane — an aircraft

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