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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cue — for pool
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mark — a grade
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stock — shares
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. cap — a hat
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rest — a break
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cap — a lid
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rest — what's left
  21. lean — to bend
  22. stock — goods
  23. game — a match
  24. cue — a hint

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