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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wake — a trail
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. last — final
  10. present — a gift
  11. stock — goods
  12. present — there
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fork — in a road
  15. present — the time now
  16. stock — shares
  17. last — finally
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. last — to go on
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. prune — to trim

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