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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: jam · roll · row · present · stock · cell · tear · saw

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. present — the time now
  3. row — to paddle
  4. tear — from crying
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. present — a gift
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cell — in biology
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. cell — a phone
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. roll — a list
  18. tear — to rip
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. present — there
  22. stock — shares
  23. tear — from crying
  24. row — a line

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