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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 120 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: mine · racket · straw · plane · wind · stock · prune · arm

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stock — shares
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. stock — goods
  13. mine — for digging
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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