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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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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. stock — shares
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fork — in a road
  5. prune — to trim
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. row — to paddle
  14. content — happy
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stock — goods
  18. row — a line

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