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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: court · jam · temple · roll · straw · stock · wound · prune

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. court — of a king
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. roll — a cake
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — to trim
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wound — an injury
  13. roll — a list
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. court — for sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stock — goods
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. court — of law
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. straw — dry grass

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