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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: stock · prune · cell · squash · pit · foot · straw · club

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. club — for golf
  7. cell — in biology
  8. stock — goods
  9. squash — to crush
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. pit — in a race
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cell — a phone
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stock — shares
  18. pit — a hole
  19. prune — to trim
  20. squash — the sport
  21. foot — a measure
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. club — a group

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