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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bark — to shout
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stock — goods
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. rest — what's left
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rest — what's left
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rest — a break
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mate — to breed

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