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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: bank · stock · trunk · last · cold · straw · tube · snap

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. last — finally
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bank — of a river
  7. last — final
  8. bank — for money
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. stock — goods
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bank — for money
  15. tube — the underground
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tube — a container
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. last — to go on
  20. cold — an illness
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. stock — shares
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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