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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stock — goods
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — a gift
  13. mark — a trace
  14. cell — a phone
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — low music
  20. present — there
  21. chest — a box
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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