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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pop — soda
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pop — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. prune — to trim
  12. present — a gift
  13. board — a committee
  14. prune — to trim
  15. present — there
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. stock — shares
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stock — goods
  21. board — to get on
  22. present — the time now
  23. spell — a short time
  24. board — a flat piece

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