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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. present — there
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. row — a line
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. hand — help
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stock — goods
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. row — to paddle
  24. prune — to trim

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