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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — to trim
  6. can — a tin
  7. march — the month
  8. can — a tin
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. march — music
  12. bark — to shout
  13. march — the month
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. fall — the season
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pit — in a race

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