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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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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: stock · prune · trunk · saw · board · degree · lash · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. prune — to trim
  5. board — to get on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. prune — to trim
  9. board — a committee
  10. degree — from a university
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. row — a line
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. saw — the tool
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. stock — shares
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stock — goods

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