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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: tear · prune · squash · stand · land · last · shower · stock

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. last — to go on
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stand — to bear
  14. last — finally
  15. prune — to trim
  16. shower — rain
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stock — goods
  19. last — final
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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