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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — an illness
  3. march — the month
  4. club — a group
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. march — the month
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. lean — thin
  9. pit — a hole
  10. prune — to trim
  11. club — for golf
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. squash — the sport
  14. march — music
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. stock — goods
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stock — shares
  19. club — for dancing
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pit — in a race
  23. squash — to crush
  24. prune — the fruit

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