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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: pop · bear · clip · trunk · stock · present · tear · cell

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — the time now
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pop — music
  9. stock — shares
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pop — soda
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tear — from crying
  17. present — there
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stock — goods
  21. present — a gift
  22. cell — in biology
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — from crying

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