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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: arm · tear · stock · straw · press · prune · hide · trunk

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stock — shares
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. prune — to trim
  5. press — to push
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. press — a publisher
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. tear — to rip
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. stock — goods
  24. arm — a part of something

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