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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cue — a signal
  4. roll — a list
  5. capital — a city
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stock — shares
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. craft — a skill
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. roll — a cake
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. capital — money
  16. band — a ring
  17. craft — boats
  18. stock — goods
  19. band — a music group
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. row — a line
  24. craft — a handicraft

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