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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mate — to breed
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. ground — a position
  12. stock — goods
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stock — shares
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mate — a partner
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. stem — to come from
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. hand — help
  24. season — in sport

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