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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stock — shares
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. club — a group
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. club — for dancing
  9. court — for sport
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. last — to go on
  13. club — for golf
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. court — of law
  17. bound — certain
  18. last — final
  19. stock — goods
  20. bark — to shout
  21. last — finally
  22. court — of a king
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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