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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 120 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: pop · press · rule · tear · prune · stock

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pop — music
  3. rule — government
  4. tear — to rip
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rule — a law
  7. press — to push
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pop — soda

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