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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pop — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. net — after costs
  10. prune — to trim
  11. board — to get on
  12. club — a group
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pop — to visit
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. pop — soda
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. game — a match
  23. stock — shares
  24. board — a committee

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