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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. spring — the season
  4. hand — help
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stock — goods
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. club — a group
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. club — for golf
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spring — of water
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stock — shares
  24. club — for dancing

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