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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: prune · straw · jam · wind · stock · cell · bowl · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — in biology
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wind — moving air
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. snap — to click
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stock — shares
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. stock — goods
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. prune — the fruit

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