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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. net — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stock — shares
  5. prune — to trim
  6. present — there
  7. object — to protest
  8. net — after costs
  9. object — a thing
  10. present — a gift
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rest — a break
  13. object — an aim
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — the time now
  16. stock — goods
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — for catching

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