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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: snap · row · stock · deal · straw · current · tear · wake

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stock — shares
  4. current — happening now
  5. snap — to click
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stock — goods
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. row — to paddle
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. current — of water
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. row — a line
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. current — electric
  24. deal — an agreement

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