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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. 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. prune — the fruit
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. content — happy
  4. stock — goods
  5. cell — a phone
  6. club — for dancing
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. club — for golf
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. content — the amount
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cell — in biology
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — shares
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. 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