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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 116 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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. scale — in music
  5. craft — boats
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. scale — size or range
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. craft — a skill
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. branch — a division
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. game — a match
  21. stock — shares
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. scale — for weighing

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