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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — electric
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stock — goods
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cell — a phone
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. current — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rash — a series
  16. current — happening now
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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