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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 · fall · prune · tube · face · wound · wake · squash

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wake — a trail
  3. fall — to drop
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stock — shares
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — to trim
  11. face — to point toward
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stock — goods
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. tube — a container
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fall — the season
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fall — to drop

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