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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mate — to breed
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mate — a partner
  8. prune — to trim
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stock — shares
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mate — a friend
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bound — certain
  18. row — a line
  19. rash — a series
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. kid — child
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bound — obliged

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