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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bear — the animal
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. field — for sport
  5. snap — to click
  6. perch — the fish
  7. land — a country
  8. stock — shares
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. field — a subject
  13. land — to come down
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. field — farmland
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. dip — to sink
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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