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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. stock — goods
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chest — a box
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stock — shares
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. spring — the season
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. perch — the fish
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spring — of water
  24. mouse — the animal

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