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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. spell — letters
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spell — a short time
  9. present — there
  10. shower — to wash
  11. spell — magic
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ground — crushed
  14. prune — to trim
  15. present — a gift
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. present — the time now
  23. shower — rain
  24. ground — a position

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