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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 116 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. wake — a trail
  4. root — of a plant
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. spring — the season
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. prune — to trim
  16. root — the cause
  17. spring — of water
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. root — of a word
  21. pop — music
  22. shower — rain
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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