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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: land · last · pop · stock · craft · straw · drill · ruler

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — to come down
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. last — final
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. land — a country
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. land — ground
  13. craft — boats
  14. drill — army training
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pop — to visit
  17. drill — a practice
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. stock — shares
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. drill — the tool
  24. straw — a straw man

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