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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: prune · bulb · tear · roll · straw · bass · pitcher · stock

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bass — the fish
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bass — low music
  11. stock — goods
  12. bulb — for light
  13. roll — a list
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. stock — shares
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bass — the instrument

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