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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: pound · stock · squash · bark · prune · trunk · roll · pass

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stock — goods
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. stock — shares
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. roll — a list
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pound — for dogs

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