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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. stock — goods
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ground — the earth
  21. stock — shares
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. kid — to tease

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