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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. bass — the fish
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bass — low music
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. ground — the earth
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ground — crushed
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ground — a position
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. craft — boats
  24. stock — shares

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