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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: stock · pop · pit · trunk · tear · last · chest · firm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pop — soda
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. firm — decided
  10. stock — shares
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pit — a hole
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pop — music
  16. chest — a box
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. last — final
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — goods
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tear — to rip
  23. firm — steady
  24. trunk — of a tree

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