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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. last — final
  7. stock — shares
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. content — the amount
  10. track — a path
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. track — a song
  18. content — happy
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bass — the fish
  22. track — to keep track
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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