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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: tear · prune · squash · bowl · content · stock · lean · face

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lean — to bend
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — shares
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. face — to confront
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. lean — thin
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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