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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. march — music
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. stock — shares
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cabinet — ministers

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