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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 · dip · last · spring · row · fall · tear · trunk

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. dip — to sink
  4. row — to paddle
  5. spring — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fall — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. last — finally
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stock — shares
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. last — final
  23. row — a line
  24. stock — goods

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