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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wound — an injury
  4. firm — steady
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stock — goods
  7. spring — a coil
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spring — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. firm — decided
  16. season — of the year
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — shares
  19. fall — to drop
  20. firm — a company
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spring — of water
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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