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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. last — finally
  4. march — the month
  5. last — to go on
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a grade
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stock — shares
  11. board — a committee
  12. ball — a great time
  13. last — final
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. march — music
  17. drill — a practice
  18. march — the month
  19. drill — army training
  20. stock — goods
  21. prune — to trim
  22. board — to get on
  23. mark — a trace
  24. stock — a soup base

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