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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. object — an aim
  4. swing — music
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mine — for digging
  7. swing — in golf
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pass — a permit
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stem — to come from
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. object — a thing
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. object — to protest
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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