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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rock — a stone
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. drill — the tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. capital — money
  12. drill — army training
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stock — goods
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rock — music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. fork — a garden tool

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