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

Word bank: wind · stock · prune · ruler · trunk · race

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — humankind
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. race — a contest
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. race — the arms 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