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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: stock · court · bulb · trunk · perch · rash · tear · squash

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rash — hasty
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. squash — the sport
  8. stock — shares
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. squash — to crush
  11. court — for sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. court — of law
  14. bulb — for light
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. court — of a king
  24. rash — a series

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