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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. roll — a cake
  3. stock — shares
  4. rule — government
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stock — goods
  7. tube — the underground
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a list
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rule — a law
  12. file — a document
  13. tube — a container
  14. file — a tool
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. file — a line of people
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. prune — to trim
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. branch — a division

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