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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — low music
  4. squash — to crush
  5. chair — a leader
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. tube — a container
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bass — the fish
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stock — goods
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. stock — shares

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