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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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. bulb — for light
  4. scale — in music
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stock — goods
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. stock — shares
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. mouse — the animal

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