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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. last — to go on
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. march — music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. last — finally
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — shares
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. last — final
  15. rock — a stone
  16. snap — to click
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. stock — goods
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. dip — to sink

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