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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: land · arm · stock · dip · rash · prune · suit · bat

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. land — to come down
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. suit — in cards
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — goods
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — ground
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. suit — clothes
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stock — shares
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rash — a series
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. land — a country

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