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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. 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. stock — a soup base
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — help
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stock — shares
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. hand — in cards
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. 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