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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. march — the month
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. date — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bulb — for light
  24. last — final

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