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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: kick · stock · game · prune · leaves · season · tube · row

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. stock — goods
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. season — in sport
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. tube — a container
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. game — a match
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. row — a line
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stock — shares
  17. row — to paddle
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. season — of the year
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — wild animals
  24. season — to add flavour

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