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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 116 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: stock · cell · rule · bark · pop · hide · prune · kick

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kick — in football
  3. rule — government
  4. cell — a phone
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stock — shares
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cell — in biology
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. pop — music
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stock — goods
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pop — soda
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bark — to shout
  24. stock — a soup base

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