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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stock — shares
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stock — goods
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. drill — army training
  12. club — a group
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. drill — the tool
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bank — for money

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