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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. stock — goods
  14. game — a match
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. stock — shares
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wound — an injury
  22. plane — a tool
  23. march — the month
  24. land — to come down

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